Resonant Humanity
by VortexEssence7
Summary: She wants to die. But, for some reason, he won't let her. Maybe he really does enjoy her suffering like he says. As she finds herself falling deeper, into the dark of hell, she can't help but realize that she doesn't mind it. He is far from caring. However he can't fight his addiction to her. Will they both become lost in each other? [R&R if you please]
1. Chapter 1

I knew how i would do it.

End my life, of course.

The foliage of the forest welcomed my running form, graciously swallowing me into its dark, unknown depths. To enter this forest was forbidden. The police had tried many times to blockade the perimeter of it, but the children kept vanishing. Everyone knew, with absolute conviction, exactly who it was. Slenderman.

I was fully aware that i was running straight to my death as the sounds of civilization faded away behind me. I had no more will to live. Dying would finally end the pain, bring the silence to quiet the monsters inside me.

Heart pounding and blood rushing through my ears, i slowed to a stop. I was sure that i had run at least a mile. Panting heavily, i turned around. The dark forest was eerily yet soothingly quiet. Everything was asleep.

Restless demons squirmed about inside me. A deep breath. "_Slenderman!_" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Another turn. The dark unmoving shadows seemed to taunt me in the blackness. He had to be here somewhere.

"I know you hear me!" i continued. "I want you to kill me! I know you feed on humans, so here's a free meal!"

Nothing. The only sound to break the silence thick in the air was my labored breathing, creating puffs of fog in the chilly night air. That and the flapping of birds who had fled from the first time i screamed. Desperation grew thick in my chest, awakening the dread and agony that i had sought to escape. I growled in frustration and turned around again.

"Please! Kill me!" All my energy was slowly depleting, my shouting draining everything out of me. My knees went weak, making me sway one direction. I could only murmur now, my voice refusing to let out any more screams. "Kill me..."

The ground rushed up to meet me. Still panting, i laid on my side in the dirt and debris and watched the image of the forest distort as blackness spilled into my vision. If i was lucky, i would die from exhaustion. Weighted down with the blacking out that was soon to come, my eyes closed.

The faintest of a crunching sound in front of me made me force my eyelids open again, and i managed to look up. The impossibly tall man seemed to stretch to the treetops, and his white, featureless face gazed down at me almost calmly it seemed. As my breathing slowed, my lips curled into a rueful last smile. Finally, it would all end.

"I want to die..." i whispered with my last bit of strength. I shut my eyes, and felt nothing more.

* * *

Harsh light abruptly shone through my eyelids, giving me an instant headache and making me turn my face away from the direct brightness. Light?...There isn't supposed to be light. I'm supposed to be...

Suddenly arms went underneath me and lifted me from the ground. Then we were moving, seemingly running. I heard heavy breathing, like my carrier would go into cardiac arrest at any moment. I decided at that moment to show him that i was awake, by looking up at him and waving my hand in front of his face to get him to stop.

He gave me a startled look, his mouth open and his pale blue eyes widening as we stopped moving.

"Can you put me down?" i asked calmly. He came to a stop and complied, but still held onto my elbow to make sure i had my footing. I stared at him then, all the creases and lines permanently etched into his face, his snow white hair. His name was Tom Roberts. He was the oldest man in town, and once the most famous. He was the first one to see the Slenderman abduct a child. The child had been his brother.

"What the hell were you doing by those woods?" his raspy voice croaked. He sounded like century old wood that creaked under your feet whenever you put weight on it, like it would break at any moment. He probably would, too.

"What the hell were you doing carrying me? Aren't you 86 now?" I returned. This man was in no shape to be straining himself like that, his whole body could have disintigrated.

"87," he replied proudly. "And when i came outside to get the mail, I saw you asleep just a foot from those trees. I thought that HE would get you if i didn't."

"Mm." I nodded and chewed on my lip. Something had gone wrong. I had seen Slenderman, then I wake up unharmed? I surveyed the area, it seemed i had been placed right where i would be seen and taken from harm's way. Inwardly i cursed. No doubt Slenderman had done it. But why hadn't he killed me?...I was right there, defenseless...i even told him to.

"Do you want a ride back into town? A young lady shouldn't be wandering around here by herself," Tom stated. He was very strange. Not many people would offer to help a weird girl like that, especially one found by the forest. Proxies had been known to come out of the forest around here when Slenderman didn't.

"I'm not afraid of Slenderman," i said, still looking around absently. It was just after dawn. The sun was already annoying me, I had never liked it.

"It's not him who you should worry about. He doesn't come out in the daytime usually. There are plenty of men here who wouldn't give a second thought to snatch you up, though."

I met his eyes and analyzed him. I would have called him kind, if I had felt personally that he was such. He was one of those people. The townspeople had wanted nothing to do with him however, and he was forced to move five miles from them. His lonely house was surrounded by the forest that was so feared.

"Fine," i agreed reluctantly. At least then I could get away from this area and go back into the forest later when no one would be watching. Slenderman had some explaining to do.

Tom's old pickup truck smelled like old leather and whiskey, and it was crying out for someone to wash it. And change the oil. And just fix everything in general. It was a faded blue color, with rust covering a lot of it.

I kept my eyes trained on the road. It was a small road, with only two lanes. One going north and one south. The morning mist had soaked the trees and made them glisten as the sunlight cloaked over them. I then let my curiosity get the better of me. "How old were you?..." I let my question drift in the air. He knew what i meant.

He swallowed and the lines around his mouth set deeper into his ever-present frown. "Seven. He was six."

I didn't apologize like anyone else would have done. He and i both knew that it would do no good. I easily settled back into silence. For some reason I was getting along with the old man. I didn't usually get along with anyone. It wasn't because I thought i was better, which I knew i wasn't. It was because I just disliked people in general. Earning my fondness was not an easy task to accomplish.

But Tom didn't seem to have the ever-present qualities of every other person I had encountered. He seemed genuine, real, almost like a fresh, open wound, and you could see everything. There were no lies to deter from the truth.

"Where do you live?" he asked when we were in town. I glared at the thugs and moronic bystanders around us on the streets. I'd had enough experience with them.

"Nowhere." I wasn't about to lie to him. I never lie to people, there's no point to it. Some lie to somehow try and prevent hurt of some kind, as if creating a false fabrication will replace the source of the pain. That maybe the sharp broken glass of the truth will somehow disappear before it cuts someone open, leaving them to bleed.

His bushy white eyebrows raised at me. "What?"

I let out a deep breath. "I don't live anywhere. I've been on my own since I turned 18 and was kicked out of foster care. Just drop me off wherever you want."

His lips pursed. He didn't look surprised, or disgusted, just conflicted. He didn't know how to react. "How do you...defend yourself?"

Giving him a blank look, I pulled out my black gun from the waistband of my jeans and held it up for him to see. He only 'hmph'ed at it, slowly shaking his head in some form of disapproval, like a father who's child got into trouble.

I waited and waited for him to stop somewhere, let me out and say good luck or some crap, but he kept driving around. We passed the same dinky old garden shop twice.

"Is there a reason we're driving in circles?" I questioned. I honestly didn't know what he was doing. I knew he wasn't about to do something stupid or bad, he would regret it if he did. This man had no malice in him, so it wasn't possible for him to be planning something to my discomfort or doom.

"What's your name?" he said, ignoring my question.

"Rei."

"Is that your real name?"

I tensed a bit. "Yes." I began fishing in my pocket. "When i was dropped on the porch of an orphanage as a baby, I had a note with me that had my first name and date of birth." I pulled out a worn pice of paper and unfolded it, showing Tom the words. His eyes flickered as he read. Though i couldn't quite describe with what.

When he gave a nod, i refolded it and put it away. "Why all the questions?"

The truck pulled into the parking lot of a run-down market with most of the lights behind the sign not working. Tom turned the engine off and gave a deep sigh, the kind you give when you're deciding something important in your life. He looked over at me, assessing me for the first time. His eyes were warm, not imposing, even a little bit trusting.

After a bit of silence he spoke gently, as if trying not to scare off an animal. "I would feel comfortable if you would stay at my house for a little while. Just until you can find a place for yourself, or get a job..."

I studied his kind expression, his withering appearance. It was so different than the usual stare I got from people. I glanced out my window and saw the various other homeless scum of the town, sleeping on the curb or ganging up on normal people to mug them. Or sometimes they did it just to hurt them. I hated dealing with idiots.

Was i going to regret this? Maybe. But I was never one to care about conesquenses. In my life, whatever happened, happened. That's what happened in everyone else's lives, though they try to avoid and stop things from occurring.

Fate is unavoidable. Death is inevitable. Because of their fear, or guilt, people always think that there's a way out of things. They aren't mentally capable of facing what is coming. I'd met very few people who actually weren't like this. Tom seemed to be one of them, though i couldn't tell for sure yet. His house did seem pretty nice.

I suppose it would be better than having to constantly be woken up by someone trying to steal whatever change was in my pockets. And not having to sleep on the cold uncomfortable ground...

"Fine. Okay," i answered.

The keys were pulled from the ignition and put in his pocket. "I'm going to get a couple of things here. Lock the doors, and i'll be back in a bit," Tom said, getting out. When he shut the door, the clicking of the locks could be heard. I slid down in my seat and rubbed my forehead. This was a hopeless attempt at trying to calm my tight muscles and quell the things that constantly whirled around in me.

Let's hope Tom doesn't get too freaked out by me disappearing to die.

* * *

When we got back to his house, i carried the groceries into the kitchen and let him put them where they belonged. He explained that he did have a job in town and he would be gone for most of the day, and i could do whatever i pleased. Except destroy his house, of course. Not like I'd want to. I wasn't destructive.

His large house had two floors and quite a few rooms, most of them filled with his things that needed to be put in storage. He did let me have a room on the top floor, with a window that had a view of the forest. The bed had deep purple blankets, and there was a dresser, with a writing desk right next to it. Fluffy gray carpet was underneath my feet just like everywhere else in the house.

He left me after telling me that the bathroom was just down the hall from my room. He was going to work and would be gone until sunset at least. I had nodded and started to unload what little i had. I set my gun on the desk, my note, some change and my jacket. As i heard the front door shut, signaling his departure, i decided it would be nice to have a shower. And throw my clothes in the wash.

I undressed in the bathroom and put a towel on, then took my clothes down to the dinky washing machine and put them in. Whatever works. When it was running, i went back upstairs and began to take my shower. It had been so long since i had taken one. I almost sighed in relief as the hot water instantly relaxed me and loosened my ever-stiff muscles.

As i cleaned myself i thought of what i had to do next. There had to be a reason that Slenderman didn't kill me. But i couldn't come up with any. He's a cold killer who snatches children and kills them. Was i too old or something?

No. He had taken adults too. Only a few, but he had. Some he didn't even take, like with the children, he just killed them and left their bodies for people to find. The children were never seen again, he didn't leave their bodies. Maybe he ate them whole.

Had i hallucinated him?...I didn't walk back to the edge of the forest by myself. I hadn't even known where i had run to, or how far into the trees i was. My only goal was to find the one who i knew would grant me my end.

But he didn't.

Consequently this confused and pissed me off at the same time.

I turned off the water and stepped out, grabbing my towel. When i had it wrapped around me, i looked in the mirror for the first time in months.

My black hair was down to the middle of my shoulderblades in the back, but shorter in the front so i had some hanging on my forehead. I had skin paler than most. I didn't like the sun very much. It was always too bright and too hot. Dark blue eyes stared back at me, cold and blank. I stood at 5'8 last time i checked.

I hated mirrors. I didn't like looking at myself most of the time. It wasn't that I thought i was ugly, but rather that I held a deep-rooted hatred for myself that had been there for a long time. I didn't like touching myself most of the time either. I tried to refrain from having any contact in any way, such as doing my hair or makeup. I only did those things in high school and i hated it.

I did it simply because I didn't want people trying to assess me based on the nonexistant amount of makeup I wore. Or how ratty my hair looked. I admit I wished I hadn't cared as much back then, and that I just did what I wanted and thought that people could just deal with it. Of course I did plenty of that now, but getting an early start would have made me satisfied.

A growl form inside me told me it was time to have some food. I put a hand to my stomach, and wasn't surprised when i felt my concave midsection. It was never anything but.

I went down to the washroom on the bottom floor and put my clothes in the dryer. I realized then that i hadn't had more than one pair of clothes for a long time. I didn't like to keep too many things with me, it was hard enough to replace my dirty clothes with new ones from a store and walk out without getting caught. I took a deep breath and left.

After rummaging through the old creaky cupboards in the kitchen i found some cereal, frosted mini wheats. I filled a medium-sized bowl to the top and gave myself a gracious amount of milk. I took my meal to the couch in the livingroom and watched some TV while i ate. I didn't really watch any programs, I just stared at the screen and zoned out.

When my stomach was contented, i couldn't help falling asleep. I didn't want to, i hardly ever slept during the day, but my body wouldn't let me stay awake. i eventually gave in to my closing eyelids.

* * *

_DING!_

I jumped awake at the sound of the dryer going off, gripping the couch tightly with my hands. I soon calmed my racing heartbeat and rubbed my face, my rigid form relaxing a bit, looking around. A glance out the window told me that it was almost sunset. Tom would be home soon.

I got up and went to get dressed. I slipped my underclothes on and pulled on my newly washed black skinny jeans, my black T-shirt, and my socks. They felt a little better now that they weren't filled with dirt and sweat. I put my jacket over my shoulder and took my boots up to my room. They were black steeltoed boots with laces and buckles, and they had lasted me for years. I usually left the top couple holes of them unlaced, so they were easier to run in. They went halfway up my calf.

They had come in very handy when i got into fights, especially when i got the unlucky idiot on the ground and stomped their teeth out. They just never learned.

I hadn't ever used my gun except for one time. I didn't kill anyone, i only shot at his hand to knock the hunting knife out of his grip. Those things could do some serious damage. He ran off screaming and holding his bloody hand after that, and i didn't have the need for it again.

Although i would use it if i really had to. In this world, if you don't defend yourself, you get killed. I would have no remorse if i had to kill a bum before he got me.

The front door opened and I trotted downstairs to meet him, running my fingers through my now dry hair. It was really tangled. I should have brushed it before i fell asleep.

"So what did you do while i was gone?" Tom asked, unloading his briefcase on the table by his chair. "I did buy some things to make dinner with. I hope you like chicken."

My mouth instantly started to water, but i kept my composure and continued to attempt to get my fingers through my hair. "I took a shower and a nap...i also had some cereal before i slept. You can cook?"

He gave a chuckle, the kind only a man of his age could do, the kind that could explain in itself how much he had experienced. "When you're as old as i am, you learn some things in the many years you've been alive."

He then went into the kitchen and i followed. "How are you in such good shape? You shouldn't have been able to lift me, let alone run."

Tom smiled and began getting things out of the cupboards. "I kept myself healthy ever since i was a child. I've been trying to keep myself fit to be able to rescue my brother if i ever find him...or kill that son of a bitch who took him. Can't do either if I'm a lazy old man."

I nodded and said nothing. When he reached up to grab for a pan, he gave a sudden grunt of pain and clutched at his side. I quickly took his arm to steady him while he leaned on the counter.

"I think you need to lay down," I told him. Honestly I just didn't want him to collapse on the floor. I wasn't sure I'd be able to help him then.

"I need to make dinner," he argued, his strained breath coming in puffs.

"No, you need to rest. I can make something for myself, and we can have chicken another night."

After a moment of him growling, much like a grumpy old geezer, he finally agreed and let me take him to his room. After he laid down on his bed i grabbed all his medications from the kitchen and put them within his reach in case he needed to take them. When i looked back to ask if he needed anything else, he had fallen asleep. I stared at him for a moment, then he let out a loud snore that almost made me jump out of my skin. A small smile crept onto my lips as i then left the room and closed the door behind me.

I put all the ingredients for our dinner back into the cupboards and noticed that it was now nighttime. An ounce of determination rose in my chest then, making me go upstairs and grab my things. I slipped my boots and jacket on, pulling my hood over my head. I looked at my gun for a little bit. Then i decided i wouldn't need it. I was going in there and hoping not to come back. However i did grab a flashlight to find my way into the deepest part of the forest without tripping. It was a small plastic one, probably from a Dollar Tree or something. But it would do.

Tiptoeing down the stairs, I made sure to turn off the lights and close the doors. The last thing I needed was Tom waking up and demanding where the hell I was going. I closed and locked the front door behind me. With a flick of the switch the flashlight was on, and i was racing towards the woods.

Once again the foliage was a blur around me as i ran, careful to not trip and just get as far as i could into the forest. Familiar feelings caught up with me and swarmed inside, causing my chest to hurt. Slenderman better show up soon.

After about ten minutes, i slowed to a stop in the shadowy trees. It was completely dark, save for the dim light of my flashlight casting a small circle of light into the darkness. I stood there long enough that my breath slowed to a normal pace. I had to be awake and make sure it was done. I coldn't be knocked unconscious again, the same thing might repeat itself.

I then looked around me, shining the flashlight in various areas. Any normal person would be extremely frightened, being alone in these woods at night, knowing that a supernatural killer was out there and could appear anywhere to tear your head from your body. But i only felt impatience and anger at the emotions that constantly gnawed at my chest.

"Come on, Slenderman! Where are you?!" I shouted. "I'm right here again, ready for you to kill me!"

I kept going for a few minutes, constantly turning and trying to find any sign of him in the trees. Nothing. God, this was really annoying. He could be standing right there next to a tree, watching, laughing silently at me.

"I know you're listening," I growled lowly under my breath, glaring now at the trees.

Suddenly the air chilled, and my breath fogged in front of me again, just like the other night. He was here. I fought back a shiver and turned around.

There he stood, clad in his black suit and tie. I craned my neck to look up at his face and tried to estimate his height. It could have been anywhere from eight to fourteen feet. Right now he looked about nine.

His white, eyeless face seemed to stare down at me, his form unmoving. I clicked the flashlight off, seeing no need for it now. My eyes quickly refocused in him in the dim moonlight.

I looked from his face to his gangly arms, and legs that seemed to stretch forever. White hands poked out from his suit sleeves. I thought he would have had claws.

My eyes met up with his face again, and i waited for him to make the move to kill me. But he never moved. He only stared at me.

Annoyance rising, I threw the flashlight down into the dirt beside me. "Why didn't you kill me? Why won't you do it now?"

His head slowly tilted to the side, as if mocking human actions. For some reason i had a feeling that he would have been smirking if he had a mouth. One of his legs lifted slightly, and he took a step to my side. And another. He was walking around me in a circle. I stood still expectantly, hoping he was finally going to do it. But then he reappeared on my side, his tall form bending to my level so his face was only slightly above mine. Up close I could really see the indents where all of his features would be if he had any.

"Because, it's _so_ much more amusing to watch you _suffer_."

His smooth, feathery and slightly deep voice purred at my ear. Towards the end of his sentence his voice had become deeper and sadistic. His voice was something he probably used to attract the children. It was like nothing I had ever heard, unnaturally soothing yet holding a dangerous undertone at the same time.

A sudden headache washed over me, giving me a throbbing sensation and spots in my vision. Flinching, I shook it off. Now it was harder to focus on his white face.

I glared with concentration into the large indents where his eyes would be. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled, a dark sound that made the black shadows around us seem to cringe. He also resumed walking around me slowly, probably to try and intimidate me. But i felt no fear, only irritation.

"I know of your agony, the unbearable pain that you feel every day. I felt it the first time you called to me, it felt so _alluring_. And i watched as it grew inside you, almost as enticing to me as a young child's soul."

I felt a pang of the mentioned pain again, and i heard him inhale behind me. I spun around to face him, fists clenched. "Then take my soul! And all the pain with it!"

He would have been smiling again. "If i took your soul, the emotions wouldn't be with it. It only lives as long as you do."

I took a minute to assess what he was saying. With a sinking feeling I tried to fight, I concluded what he had said. "So you're not going to kill me?"

A black tentacle sprouted from his back and went around my throat, squeezing slightly. It was cold and smooth, just like skin. I didn't squirm or move, i only stared up at him. I didn't have to tilt my head up as much when he brought his face closer, at my level. He pressed me into a tree, his tall form just inches from mine. The image of him blurred for a second, a sharp pain in my forehead. Crap. Just being near him gives you this effect.

"Oh, believe me, i would love to kill you. To watch the life fade from your eyes at my hands..." He seemed to relish in the thought, giving a pleased sigh. "But no...i won't kill you yet. I think you will prove amusing to keep around." The tentacle tightened, and i scowled at him with all the anger burning in me.

"I love how you look at me with such defiance...as if you would have a choice to not obey."

I hated the way his voice seemed to purr, it was how he lured his victims in. Even i was fighting back the draw i was feeling to him. It wasn't natural, it filled you with the instinct to follow and listen to him.

Seeing my conflict, he chuckled again and released, moving backwards gracefully, as if he was not a monster but rather an angel.

"If you won't do it, I'll do it myself," I assured him. I didn't particularly want to use my gun, it would make such a mess. But i would if i had to.

"No, you won't." He bent down again, tilting his head slightly a he spoke. "If you try, i will stop you. No matter where you are, what time it is...you are here for my amusement. You will not die until it is by my hands."

"There are other humans," I agrued, getting angry, feeling my body tense up even more, which was saying a lot. "Others that are just like me. Pick another one."

He shook his white head and a tentacle went under my chin, forcing me to keep looking at him. "Actually, there aren't. I've watched the humans of this town, and many others. None of them are like you, Rei. They don't call to me quite like your soul does."

This surprised me. "How do you...?"

I could feel it in the air when he was grinning. "You humans would try to call it intuition. I know your names just by looking at you."

When i said nothing, the tentacle retracted and he stood straight.

I then felt the dread of hopelessness, the reality of the situation. I mentally began pulling my hair out in frustration. Instead of being killed by Slenderman like i planned, I was now his slave for amusement because of my misery. And he wouldn't let me die until he got bored of me.

Well, shit.

"So you have no reason to keep me around other than the fact that you find me amusing?" I asked, summing up my impending doom.

"You are correct."

I chewed on my lip for a bit, then shook my head and moved my hair out of my eyes. "You are one sick monster. If you weren't already one before, that is."

He took it as a compliment, laughing a bit. I then searched the ground for my flashlight. I had no more reasons to be here and I just wanted to curl up under my blankets in despair. When i found it, i tried to turn it on but a tentacle swiftly took it from my hand. I looked up at him in question.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I gave him a 'duh' look. "Going back to Tom's house?" Even if he considered me his slave for amusement, I wasn't going to cooperate. I thought it might get me killed faster.

He threw the flashlight into the shadows. "You don't need that."

I was about to ask why not, but the forest scenery around us suddenly changed to the outside of Tom's green house. We were right below my window on the ground.

"Of course you can teleport," I muttered, glaring up at my window. "You couldn't have teleported us inside my room?"

"I could have," he replied.

After staring at him for a minute, I sighed and tried to think of how i would get up to the window. There were no ladders around, and no vines to climb up. I turned back to the tall man, sizing him up. "You can make yourself as tall as you want, can't you?"

"Yes," he said with another invisible smirk.

I then figured out what he was doing and wanted to facepalm. "You want me to ask you for your help."

"I know it would just _kill _you inside."

I turned back to the house. "Well forget it. I can find my own way."

I put my hands on the house, trying to find places that i could grab. It was completely smooth. When i glanced back to glare at Slenderman, he was gone. I let out a deep breath and went around to the front door. If he really thought I was that stupid, he had a lot to learn. I took out a few pins from inside my boots and stuck them in the lock. After a couple minutes, the door unlocked.

This is why i always have bobby pins with me. I crept inside and shut the door behind me, hoping Tom wouldn't wake up. Silently i took my shoes off and carried them upstairs. I glanced at the digital clock on my nightstand. It was only 11:00.

As i lifted the blankets back from the bed, i remembered all the other places i had slept that had not been like this. I had actually been in foster care until I finished high school. Then i left, living on the streets, and no one came looking for me. I couldn't stand being in a fake family.

Pushing all the memories out, I took my jacket off and slipped into the bed. I almost instantly fell asleep.


	2. Chocolate

Sunlight pushing through the curtains shone on my face, making me cringe and groan. Why was it always the sun? Stupid light.

Slowly i sat up, running my fingers through my hair to move it out of my face. The clock on the wall said 10:30. Well damn. I haven't slept this long in a while.

The smell of bacon suddenly wafted into my nose, and i got up. In the kitchen there was a plate of bacon, eggs and biscuits on the counter. Next to it was a note that said 'I had to leave for work, but i thought you might like some decent food for breakfast. Be back in the evening. -Tom'

I grabbed a fork and took my plate to the livingroom to enjoy my meal. It didn't fill me up, but it stifled the burning hunger. I never liked being full, I was content with being half that. If i was full it meant I couldn't run easily.

After that i drank a glass of milk. Looking around the house, i decided that it could use some cleaning. Tom probably didn't have the time or energy to do it by himself.

I gathered all the cleaning supplies that i could and placed them where i needed to clean. The vaccum in the livingroom, the counter cleaner and mop in the kitchen, the bathroom stuff in the bathroom.

I wasn't cleaning because it would be nice, i was doing it because it was something to do. And so i wouldn't have to stare at the dust bunnies all over the place. Call it OCD if you want, I don't care.

I found a radio in the corner of the livingroom and turned it on. After playing with it a bit, i finally found a station i liked. It had various metal and alternative music. Lucky for me, there was a marathon of Breaking Benjamin playing. I almost smiled in contentment as i listened to The Diary of Jane. Time to start cleaning.

The livingroom was relatively easy, the carpet had no stains on it. I took the vaccum to the rest of the rooms with carpets and cleaned them as well. Next was the kitchen. The granite countertops were only a bit dirty, having sticky spots from food. The stove was a real mess however. Food was stuck and burnt into it, and i had to scrub it for a while. But i did get it clean. I almost fell on my butt when i mopped the floor. It took skill.

Then it was on to the bathroom.

I won't even share what horrors i found there.

When I was done with everything, I felt like i had just gotten a workout. I wasn't tired, just exhilerated. It felt good.

I sat on the bed in my room, feeling accomplished. It was almost sunset, but not quite. My eyes found the gun sitting on the desk across from me. I reached over and took it in my hand, turning it over and clicking the safety on and off. If i did it this way, there would be a huge mess. I didn't want Tom to have to clean it up, or even see it. He didn't deserve that.

I then felt a chill creep up my back. I recognized it immediately. Slenderman was watching me. I put the gun back and jogged down the stairs, heading into the kitchen. The medicine cabinet was so cluttered with old prescriptions and vitamins that i had to set some on the counter while i searched. Soon i found what i was looking for, a bottle of Valium. Sticking it in my pocket, i put everything else back and went back upstairs to my room.

It was funny, how something could help you if taken in small doses, but could kill you if you took too much.

I stood by the bed, holding the bottle of little blue pills in my hand. This way, there wouldn't be a mess. I could just go in my sleep. I opened the bottle and dumped all the pills out. I could swallow them in one gulp. I set the empty bottle down on the desk and stared down at the pills. I closed my eyes.

_I'm sorry, Tom..._

As i began lifting my hand, something wrapped around my wrist in a lightning-fast movement and halted my hand from moving any more. Another wrapped around my neck.

Again i say, well shit.

When i opened my eyes, there stood Slenderman in front of me. Because of the low ceiling, he was only six to seven feet tall. He didn't seem amused as he picked up the empty bottle on the desk and put it near my hand. Still staring at him, hating my life, I dumped the pills back into the container. He screwed the lid on it and it vanished from his hand. Probably back to the cupboard.

The room suddenly spun, colors dancing around his figure. Wincing, I tried to concentrate on scowling at him. The headache eventually faded. But its pressure remnants still remained in my head. He was annoyed with me.

But what the hell did he expect? I wasn't about to listen to him. He should have realized that when he first talked to me.

"Now, what did i tell you?" his velvety voice cooed. The tentacles retracted and slid around on the floor before disappearing behind him.

I didn't answer. _Now what do i do?...He won't let me do it. Only he can...maybe i can make him._

I snatched my gun from the desk and pointed it right at his chest, safety off.

"Kill me," I ordered, voice unwavering. "Or I'll kill you."

He craned his neck down so his face was in mine. "Try it."

After a second's hesitation, i pulled the trigger. The sound was almost deafening in the room. His body moved slightly back with the impact, but he made no sound. With his white hand he reached up to his chest and plucked something from his suit. He then held it up for me to see. It was the bullet, the front of it crushed into itself. It never even made it through his skin.

I will admit i was surprised, but i didn't have time to register anything else before a black apendage wrapped around both my wrists, jerking me up and knocking the gun from my hands. My feet left the ground as he held me up higher by my wrists. I scowled down at him when i heard him snicker darkly in a condescending way.

"You humans are so pathetic. No weapon of yours could ever hurt me. And yet you keep trying."

I then did the stupidest thing i had ever done. I lifted my leg and kicked him right in the jaw. Of course I didn't have my boots on, so it didn't have even half the power it normally would have, which probably would end up screwing me over. His head snapped back, but he didn't release.

Crap.

His hand suddenly grabbed my throat and slammed me to the wall, making my head spin. My hands were stuck above me, locked in a vicegrip that no human could escape. My head seemed to erupt into an instant migrane. I got lightheaded and felt the swirling nausea in my stomach, but I tried to calm down and ignore the pain throbbing in my skull.

When i could focus again, I looked into his white face and felt the irritation prickling off of him. I made him angry. Good.

"Maybe i _should_ just kill you," he stated softly, as if thinking to himself. "You're just a human..."

_That's it. Just end me._

"But then again, i do enjoy all the delicious little emotions that come off of you."

He moved closer, and the pull that he created was even stronger. I fought the urge to move myself closer to him, fixing him with a glare.

But he only seemed to gaze at me in curiosity. Then he slowly moved his face to the side of mine, as if to speak directly into my ear. But he didn't say anything. He was so close that the pull was almost unbearable, and my entire being just wanted to get even closer. But i stood there in defiance, keeping myself absolutely still and prayed for him to move back.

And he did. His face pulled back to stare into mine. He assessed my burning gaze for what seemed like a while. He seemed confused, the anger gone. "Why aren't you afraid?...Every other human who sees me is riddled with fear and anguish. There is no fear in you."

Something of a regretful smile formed on my face. I couldn't help but give a harsh laugh. "I should be. Anyone would be frightened of you, a tall man with no face and tentacles that come out of his back. You take children and kill them. Everyone calls you a monster."

My chest swelled painfully with all my agony, keeping my lips upturned. Sweet pain. "And i know all of those things about you. But here's the thing...I _want _you to kill me. I'm not afraid of the one who will bring me release. I want to die and end everything...all the pain, the torture..."

I looked into the indents where his eyes would be. "I have no reason to live. My existance is completely pitiful and useless. I thought it would be fun to spite the people here by fueling you, so you could keep tormenting them." When i laughed again, an unknown wetness spilled down my face.

Completely startled, i stopped talking and blinked. Tears?...Sure enough, more came down. Why was i crying?...

Slenderman's hand came off of my throat then, and hovered near my face. I was going to ask what he was doing, but then i jumped as his index finger traced my skin just below my eye, making me shiver. His hand was so cold...

He then pulled his hand away and studied the wetness from my eyes. After a second he spoke. "Why do humans do this?"

He faced me expectantly, as if i would be able to answer all his questions about my inferior race. I tore my eyes away and glued them to the floor. "I don't know...sometimes they do it out of fear, sometimes in joy, or sadness..."

"Do you do this often?"

"No. I haven't for years. I don't know what's...wrong with me..."

I had no reason to be crying, I never felt the need to. Sure, i felt the sorrow drowning me, but not the urge to cry about it. There was no point in crying.

Suddenly the front door shut. Tom was home. I looked back up at Slenderman, knowing with a silent victory that he had to leave. He released my hands and stood straight. Then he vanished.

I let out my breath and sank down to the floor, vigorously wiping my eyes with my shirt. My fingers buried themselves in my hair, pulling in frustration. This wasn't right.

"Rei? You there?" Tom called from downstairs. I got up and went to the kitchen. When i came in, there was a bag on the table and Tom was preparing to cook the chicken.

"Did you need something?" I asked.

He turned to me and frowned a bit, his eyes reflecting concern in them. "Your eyes are red. You okay?"

I nodded. "I had a bit of an allergy attack after i cleaned the house. There was a lot of dust." I hated it when I saw that kind of emotion in people. I was rarely ever okay, but they couldn't help me. There was no point in being worried.

I wasn't angry with Tom. I knew he didn't know me. I just needed to be careful to not let anything slip around him.

"Oh, okay." He nudged the bag towards me. "I got you some clothes, i thought you might want some new ones...I don't know if they're the right size or not."

My hands took the first thing out of the bag. It was a shirt, one size too small. Next were a pair of jeans, which were also too small. I put them back and gave him a smile. "We can exchange them tomorrow for a bigger size. But thank you."

He returned the smile. It seemed to make his eyes glow with an emotion that was a mixture of everything, form dark sadness to pure joy. "You're welcome. Now how about we get dinner ready?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

During dinner we watched some old tv show back from when he was a teenager. It actually wasn't that bad. I got to hear him laugh a lot, it was a classic raspy sound that nonetheless filled the room with warmth. He really was a kind man. There aren't many people like him these days.

The chicken was seasoned with some kind of garlic lemon marinade. It was so amazing...we also had rice pilaf and green beans. I will admit that i ate everything on my plate. How could i not? It was better than anything i had eaten in a long time.

"Do you want some dessert?" Tom asked as he took our empty plates to the kitchen. I got up and followed him.

"What do you have?"

"I got this yesterday with everything else. I hope you like chocolate."

He opened the pantry and pulled out a small chocolate cake, labeled 'Triple fudge cake topped with chocolate'. He set it gently on the table as if it were a priceless artifact.

I could feel myself gaining weight just looking at it. Then i looked at Tom. "Isn't sugar bad for you at your age?..."

"Oh don't worry, it's sugar free. It's made with Splenda, it tastes just the same." He took the plastic dome off of the cake and got a knife to cut it. "Everything i have to eat is mostly sugar free, but it won't hurt if i have it every once in a while."

He handed me a plate with a piece of the chocolate deliciousness on it. "Thank you."

"No problem."

I excused myself to my room to scarf down the cake. He wasn't kidding-even sugar free tasted wonderful. I set the empty plate on the desk and checked the time. 10:06. I think it couldn't hurt to go to bed.

After brushing my hair out with a comb i found in the bathroom, I rinsed my face off and did other things to prepare for bed. I was utterly exhausted from everything. My slightly full belly only added to my need to sleep.

Yawning, I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. When i was settled, my entire body relaxed.

* * *

You know that place in between sleep and awake where you're just coherent enough to hear and feel things, but you're not entirely conscious yet? That's where i was. I noticed the air getting a little colder, but i didn't put a cause to it. I only snuggled more into my blankets.

But then weight pressed onto the bed, on either side of me. Trying to wake up more, I blinked my eyes open and lifted my head to try and see what the cause was. Dizzily i saw a white featureless face, and a familiar black suit.

I tried to focus on him, but my eyes kept wanting to close. I fought them more as i realized he had crawled over me on the bed, hands and legs on either side of me. I turned from my side onto my back, pushing myself up with my elbows.

"What..." I mumbled, sounding weak and barely awake. Was i dreaming? It sure felt like it.

Before i could finish asking, he suddenly moved forward more, and i tried to scoot back. But the wall soon met me, and i could only sit there as i wondered what the hell Slenderman was doing. Was he trying to scare me again?

My breath caught in my throat as his white face was then not an inch from mine, and the drawing effect that his presence had was even stronger than it had been before. I was frozen then when his forehead touched to mine, and the need filled me to my fingertips and gave me a sort of high. My skin was tingling, and there was fire underneath it.

I then realized that there was a small bump where his nose would have been, as that bump met my nose and tilted my face up ever so slightly. Was he trying to...?

I regained my breathing, and a strange scent filled my nose. He smelled like fresh morning air, crisp with mist. Almost like snow. I was breathing rather strangely, but every time I attempted to calm myself down by breathing, his scent filled me and I lost the will to whatever i was trying to do.

The burning in my skin became unbearable, and i felt my hands raising to try and pull him closer just to extinguish the fire.

Suddenly a splitting headache seared through me, making me flinch and shut my eyes.

When i reopened them, I was on my side with the blankets up to my chin. Just like how i went to sleep. Confused, i sat up, then groaned when my head pounded. Clutching my forehead, I pulled the covers off. That dream was just...

At more pounding, I got up and went downstairs, hoping to find some pain relivers. As i searched through the cabinet, moving things aside, the room chilled. I sighed and pulled out the bottle of Ibuprofen.

"Relax, I just have a headache," I said. "Besides, i don't think you can OD very easily on these."

Unscrewing the lid, I turned around to face him. He said nothing, so I just dumped two pills onto my hand. Before i could lift them to my mouth, a cold finger pressed to my head, and the headache instantly went away. I looked back up at him, surprised.

"You have healing powers?"

He gave a single nod. I put the pills away and closed the cupboard. When i turned back to him, I smoothed out my hair with my fingers. I just kept looking at him, waiting for him to do something. Anything.

Then the events of my dream came flooding back, and the same warmth made my skin prickle. I involuntarily shuddered and tore my eyes away, looking to the counter instead. And my cheeks had the nerve to heat up as well.

I hadn't ever been in that kind situation before, even with a human. I did have a couple boyfriends here and there, but they never pushed me to do anything uncomfortable. I had chosen the ones that were the most like me. We could relate easier.

"Are you troubled?" Slenderman asked, his voice seeming to caress my very soul. I shook off the feeling. Get your head on, Rei.

"What do you mean?" I returned, stealing a glance at him.

"You look ill. Your cheeks are darker."

I shook my head and folded my arms. Great, now I had to try and keep the Slenderman from prying into my thoughts. "That always happens. It's normal."

He fell quiet again for a bit. "You smell...off."

I gave him my best 'wtf' look. "Excuse me?"

"It's coming from your mouth. What did you eat?"

I thought for a moment, then went to the pantry and pulled out the remains of the chocolate cake. i took the top off for him to see. "Does it smell like this?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"It's chocolate. A human dessert, or sweet. Is it bad to you?"

He bent forward, inspecting it with his weird kind of curiosity i had now begun to see often. "No, it's just...interesting."

I let my curiosity win over me. "Have you ever had human food?"

He stood straight and looked at me. "No."

"Would it hurt you?"

"Not likely. My digestive system is far better than yours."

I went over to a drawer and pulled a knife and fork out, setting it next to the cake. Then i awkwardly went past Slenderman to get a plate from the cupboard. As i was reaching up for one, I could have sworn i felt a featherlight caress down the back of my hair. But it was gone as quickly as it had come, so i dismissed it and turned to set the plate next to the cake.

While i was cutting a slice, Slenderman's voice brought my attention back to him.

"Did you sleep well?"

I set the slice on the plate and eyed him. Now _he _was acting suspicious. "I suppose. I had a weird dream."

Oh dammit, Rei.

I chewed on my lip as i pushed the slice towards him, eyes fixed on the counter. He gingerly picked up the fork, inspecting it before pushing it into the cake. I then realized i would get to see if he had a mouth, so I stared at him expectantly. He seemed amused by my sudden interest. He lifted the piece towards his face, and shoved it into where his mouth would be. The piece disappeared as if a mouth had taken it.

"What the hell?" I whispered under my breath, replaying the scene in my mind. Was it invisible or something?

"Do you have a mouth?" I blurted.

He didn't respond, only gave a chuckle and made another piece vanish into his face. "That's for me to know."

_And you to find out._

As the words finished in my mind, I actually slapped my forehead and rubbed my hand down my face. I was going to lose it. Even more than I already had, if that was possible.

"Is something wrong?" Slenderman asked, sounding entertained.

I removed my hand from my face and fake smiled. "Oh, everything's fine. Just fine..." And crazy. And stupid. And ridiculous.

I noticed he had eaten almost half of the cake slice. I decided he would finish it, so i put the cover back on the rest of the cake and put it away. When I turned back around, he was just inches from me, his tall form blocking the light and covering me in a shadow.

"Son of a fuck!" I breathed as my heart stopped for a second. "Did you really need to do that?"

"I have no other way of frightening you," he replied, seemingly smiling in victory.

I glanced behind him to look at his plate. "Are you going to..." It was empty. "Nevermind." I looked back up at him. "So you like chocolate?"

"It is satisfying."

I felt somewhat of a victory in hearing this. I was the first human to feed Slenderman chocolate. I then inwardly laughed at myself. _If he doesn't kill you first, your insanity will._

"Why are you smiling?"

His voice knocked me back to reality, and i immediately went back to a neutral face. "I wasn't."

"You really think you can lie to a supernatural monster?"

I tried to glare at him, but my face was faltering because of my idiot thoughts. "You can't prove anything."

He said nothing and a tentacle wrapped around my waist and pulled me out of the pantry, then pushed me against the counter. It wasn't rough, just forceful. I wondered what he was doing, and i got his face in mine as an answer.

"Are you going to answer my question?" he purred, his voice seeming to calm my entire body.

I folded my arms in response.

The apendage suddenly tightened, making it harder to breathe. I tried to slow my breathing and stay calm.

It then tightened to the point where I could barely wheeze. I knew that pulling on it would do no good, so i clenched my fists instead. The sadistic monster was back.

After i fed him chocolate...the bastard.

"Damn...you..." I hissed, face screwing up as i saw black dots in my vision.

"Still not obeying?...very well then."

Abruptly i could breathe again. But as soon as i inhaled deeply, Slenderman's white face was just inches from my own.

_Crap, crap, crap._

I looked to the side for some route of escape. When i was about to move, My skin began prickling and i realized how close he had become. The familiar sensations began returning from my dream, and i fought them even more. This was real.

"S-stop," I commanded, angry at how weak i sounded.

"Why should i?" he whispered into my neck. "I did say how i liked to make you suffer."

I took a shuddering, frustrated breath. "Do you even know what you're doing to me?"

"I am aware that my presence causes somewhat of a pull in your instincts."

"_Somewhat_?"

"Yelling at me won't get you anywhere."

I stood still for a minute more, the urge inside me growing stronger. I was trying so hard to hold myself back that my breathing was becoming slightly labored.

Then it was gone. Slenderman had disappeared. I was confused for a moment, then Tom came into the kitchen, clad in his plaid pajamas. I almost giggled at him if not for the previous scene that had happened.

"What the hell are you doing up? It's past midnight," he said, squinting at me, sounding half asleep still.

I motioned to the plate on the counter with a sheepish smile. "I wanted some more cake. Did i wake you?"

He shook his head and shuffled past me to get a glass. "No, i got up for some water. You should go back to bed."

I nodded and went up to my room. Upon closing the door, I expected Slenderman to reappear to finish our battle, but he didn't. So i turned off the light and got back into bed.

After i fell asleep, the room was cold the entire night.


	3. So Close

_Knock knock._

I groaned and unburied myself from the covers, revealing my disheveled hair and face. "Come in..."

The door opened and Tom stepped in. "Morning." At my messy appearance, he gave a knowing smile. "You should get ready, we're heading into town to get you clothes."

With that he left and closed the door. I pushed myself up and got out of bed, almost tripping in the process. But i made it to the bathroom and began to get myself ready.

_Slenderman likes chocolate._

I almost swallowed the toothpaste mess in my mouth when i started snickering, and had to spit out the contents so i wouldn't choke. _I'm insane. Utterly completely insane._ I kept doing my small, high pitched laugh until it faded away. I couldn't stop it even if i wanted to.

I brushed out my hair next. I had a lot of split ends. I could really use a haircut, or at least a trim to get rid of the damaged parts.

I went back to my room and put my jacket on. All my things were tucked where they belonged, and i then slipped my hood on. I liked wearing it, like someone liked wearing their favorite dress.

"Oh, boots," I muttered to myself. I picked up my shoes and slipped one on, then tried the other. The last one got stuck, and as i was hopping around trying to shove it on, i lost my balance and fell on my butt. I laid there for a moment to let my vision clear.

And i was looking not at the ceiling, but at a featureless face.

I got up with a grunt and finished jamming my boot on. "What are you doing here? I thought you didn't come out during the day...much less in the morning."

"I _come out_ when i please," he responded with the same high-and-mighty attitude he seemed to carry. "Are you leaving?"

I nodded as i lifted my shirt to stick my gun in my waistband. "Tom's taking me to get some new clothes. You going to miss me or something?"

"Something like that."

I stared at him. What a weird answer. I shook my head to clear it away and went to the door. "I'll be back later. Then your slave can amuse you further."

He only gazed at me wordlessly, so i went out and closed the door behind me.

* * *

"Thank you," I told the cashier as i picked up my bag of newly exchanged clothes. The only reason I thanked her was because she had actually been nice to me, unlike so many other people I encountered. When i got back into the truck, i handed the change back to Tom and set the bag at my feet.

After a moment of silence, I slowly spoke, looking over at Tom with a slowly growing smile. "Did you see..."

"That hideous lady behind the counter? Yes," Tom finished for me, giving me a smile.

I smiled back when he started laughing boisterously.

"Her lipstick was too bright and her makeup looked like her dog had slapped it onto her face," Tom continued in between bits of laughter. "I was hoping she would still be there so you could see her for yourself."

I covered my mouth to stifle my grin. "So where are we going next?"

He pulled the truck out of the lot and got onto the bumpy road. "I thought you might enjoy a haircut, i know you've been having trouble with tangles. Is that okay with you?"

"That would be awesome." I knew i would be paying Tom back for all of this, so it didn't bother me that i was being spoiled. I would get the money and pay him somehow.

"Do you have any children?" I asked.

His eyes took on a warm glow, and i knew he was reliving his memories. "I also have grandchildren. A lot of them. My daughter tells me about them when she calls."

"Do they come to see you?"

"Sometimes on Christmas. But most of the time she can't afford the trip over here."

"Ah."

The car pulled in front of a pink colored salon. The sign was too faded to read, and i saw a couple other people getting their hair cut inside. The building seemed to be on its last legs.

"Let's go," Tom said, getting out. I followed him inside, where a woman who looked in her 30's came up to us. She wore a black apron with a couple hair tools sticking out of the pockets. Her blonde hair was short, and it was slightly spiky. I instantly liked her. Her eyes had a twinkle of something crazy in them, an untamed excitement of some sort.

"Hey, Tom!" she said excitedly, giving him a hug. "You here for a trim?"

"Actually, i was hoping you could give this young lady a trim instead," he replied, holding his hand out behind me.

When the woman fixed her bright eyes on me, I offered a small smile and said hello.

"Sure! My name's Sarah," she introduced, shaking my hand. "Come on over here and we'll get started." She walked towards an empty chair, and i glanced back at Tom.

He patted my back and nodded to reassure me. "I'll be waiting in the car."

As he walked away, I went over to where Sarah was waiting. She wore a big smile on her red lips. I sat in the black cushioned chair, and she placed a plastic cape around my neck.

"So what'll it be today?" she asked, looking at me in the mirror. Her fingers took my hair out from the cape and smoothed it out.

"I have a lot of dead ends," I told her, eyeing every one of them. "I just want those gone. You don't have to do anything fancy."

She nodded in understanding as i talked. "Alright. By the way, i absolutely love your hair color. Is it dyed or anything?"

I shook my head. "I've never dyed it. By the way, I'm Rei."

Another big smile, this one accurate to match with Tom's. "Nice to meet you, Rei. Let's get started."

She wet my hair with a squirt bottle and combed through it. While she was beginning to snip, I inspected the hair products on the table. "How long have you known Tom?"

"Since i was a little girl," she replied with a smile. "I kept telling him how i wanted to go to beauty school and become a beautician or something like that. He told me that i could if i really tried hard for it, so i did. I put my heart and soul into getting into that beauty college. When i graduated, i got a job here and he came in my first day to get his hair cut. I told him i was just a beginner, and he just told me to try my best."

She lauged. "I gave him such a horrible haircut. But he told me he loved it. Eventually i got better, but i'll never forget that first cut. I keep a photo of it at my house."

"He's a good man."

"Yes, he is. He deserves to be happy more than any of us."

I let the silence fill the air then. I used that time to recollect what had happened recently and try to make sense of it. Basically, i had run right into Slenderman, begged him to kill me, and he didn't. Then i somehow became his slave for amusement because he found my misery entertaining. And let's not forget how a sweet old man had taken me in for no reason at all. Part of me was enjoying it while it lasted, and the other was feeling like crap because of the kind of person i was. I wasn't supposed to be cared for, or shown affection...

In some way, i deserved being held captive by a supernatural murderer. I only wished he would end my pitiful existance. But he had taken some sort of interest in my suffering. Maybe he wasn't used to feeling those kinds of emotions coming from a human, how they made you feel physically sick.

For some reason i had a feeling that my emotions weren't the only reason he kept coming into contact with me. Sometimes he seemed more curious than evil. Maybe he was learning from me in some way.

"Alright, I'm just going to blowdry your hair and then we're done," Sarah said, ripping me from my thoughts. She took out a hairdryer and began running her fingers through my hair as she dried it.

I stared at my reflection while she did it. The dark circles that had been so ever-present under my eyes were almost gone, so i looked less like a zombie. My hair looked like it was jet black, and it had a slight shine to it when it caught light. It was straight and always had been.

"And we're done!" Sarah concluded, turning off the dryer and ruffling the top of my head to mess up my hair. She fluffed it a little more in some places as well. "Do you like it?"

It didn't look much different, but the ends weren't frayed anymore. I reached up and pushed my bangs aside. She had kept them how i liked them, short but a little longer towards the left. I was surprised at how soft my hair felt.

"Did you put something in my hair?" I asked, not angry but simply wondering.

She shook her head and played with my hair some more. "Nope. It's naturally like this. You're lucky."

Tom then came in and walked up to us, hands in his pockets, whistling at me. "Sarah, you sure do one hell of a job."

She smiled as he handed her a twenty. "I only trimmed the ends. I think her hair just naturally looks this awesome." She winked at me.

I felt almost content, standing up and taking the cape off. Tom and i left then. When we were back in the truck, I saw that the sun was just going down. I looked over at Tom.

"Weren't you supposed to be at work today?" I asked, suspicious.

He gave me a grin. "I got the night shift today. I dont have to be there until 8:00 tonight."

"Isn't that bad for a man your age? You should be sleeping at that time."

"Sleep is for the dead."

I laughed at this. I really liked this old man. He still had the youth of someone less than half his age. Again, that was something you rarely ever find.

We soon arrived at his light green house, and the sun had just disappeared. I took all my bags out of the car and shut the door, walking up to the porch.

"I'll be back in the morning. Keep all the doors locked," he called from the truck. I gave him the thumbs-up sign, and he drove away.

I put the spare key into the lock and went inside, locking it behind me. The house was eerily silent, but it didn't bother me. I liked the silence. The stairs creaked slightly under my feet with the added weight of the bags in my hands. When i pushed the bedroom door open, i was met with an empty room. I took one step inside and was met suddenly with a black suit. I stifled the shriek in my throat with an indignant growl.

"What the deuce, Slenderman!" I half-shouted at him, glaring up at his white face. When i felt his smile in the air, I set one of my bags down and whacked his stomach with the other. "You ass. Move."

I shoved around him to put my bags on the bed and unload my new things, putting them where they belonged in the dresser.

"It might not be the smartest thing to call a murderer an ass," he stated on the other side of the bed.

I took a glance at him and rolled my eyes. "You're kidding, right? I think you forget that i wouldn't mind being dead." I bunched up the empty bags and stuffed them into the small trashcan by the desk.

"You look different," Slenderman said. He sounded curious again, and it almost made me want to laugh at the fact that he was a murdering monster.

Instead i sat on the bed and began to take my shoes off. "I got a haircut. No more split ends. Does it look bad or something?"

With a grunt of exertion i yanked my boot off and tossed it next to the dresser. When he didn't respond, I glanced over my shoulder at him. He was in the same spot, just staring. What was he thinking about?...

I faced forward again and took off my other boot. "What did you do today?"

"I hunted."

Any other person would have been frightened at this statement. I had already accepted that he kidnapped and killed children. I wasn't scared, even though i knew i should be. Something was wrong with me...

But I'd known that all along.

After i threw my boot next to the other, I put my hands in my lap and let myself slouch forward. My chest started to swell with anger and sorrow, coming up to my throat and making it harder to breathe. I knew i didn't deserve what Tom had given me, and i was going to hurt him in the end. I hated this.

I hated everything. Mostly myself. And other people. There were so few things to like about them. They really were such stupid creatures. Except, Tom wasn't like them. He was one of the very few actually smart and worthy individuals i had met. And he befriended me, of all people.

My lips curled into a snarl of loathing. Why was i such a monster?...

I pulled out my gun and stared at it in my lap, my finger clicking the safety on and off. It would be so easy to just point, and...

So easy, if I wouldn't be stopped.

Weight pressed onto the other side of the bed. Was he sitting down?...what an interesting thought.

I could still feel him watching me, with his eyeless face. Something that could have been so easy turned into something that i never thought i would have to deal with. I never would have pictured myself being enslaved to Slenderman. Or him seeming to have two sides to him. Yes, he was a sadistic killer, but he was also very confused about humans and seemed to want to understand more.

I just can't stay away from weird situations, can i?

A cold hand seemed to stroke down the back of my head, stopping between my shoulderblades. Something different rose in my stomach, almost a warm feeling.

Flinching, I stood up and wrapped an arm around myself, the other still holding the gun. The warm feeling was gone as soon as i had gotten up. It felt so different. I wasn't sure of the last time i had felt something like it...

I knew one thing though. I didn't deserve any feelings but misery.

The familiar feelings of rage and rigidity rose and filled me once more. This was how it was supposed to be.

Holding the gun by my side, my thumb played with the safety still.

"Why do humans resist comfort?" Slenderman asked.

Glaring at the wall, I pictured myself as a little girl when i would lock myself in a room and curl into a ball in a corner and cry until i blacked out. During this time my foster family would be trying to talk to me through the door. I never let them in. When the memory left me, my face softened a bit. "It depends."

"On what?"

I turned slightly towards him. "For example, if you just kidnapped someone and tried to comfort them, they wouldn't want you to. They would be too scared."

"I am aware of that. I was referring to you."

I stared at him then for a moment, the only sound the clicking of the safety on my gun. He looked so out of place, sitting on the bed. His torso was slightly bent forward. I bet that i look like he does now, out of place. Except i look like that all the time. I certainly felt like it.

For a second i felt the urge to go sit with him, talk about the nonsense of human lives and the stupid things we enjoy.

But it was quickly shoved away by the fact that if i was close to him, it might give me those feelings again. I had to keep my distance. This is how it was supposed to be, I was meant to suffer alone.

"You're not answering," Slenderman said.

If i said that i didn't have to, that would provoke him to want to torture me using his pull to his advantage. Instead i decided to chew on my lip. "I know."

"Maybe i can answer my own question..."

He slowly stood, and i immediately felt myself wanting a route of escape. But i knew there were none. So i could only watch while he went around the bed and stopped in front of me, his form putting me in a shadow again.

His voice sounded smooth again, alluring. "I would say that you don't want to feel anything more than despair and pain. You have been like this ever since you can remember, and anything that feels _nice_ is not something you are used to."

When I kept playing with the safety on my gun, A black apendage came out and took it from my hand, setting it on the desk. I then started feeling the unnatural pull to him, and i tried to step back a little. The wall decided to jump forward and stop me.

"Um, could you-" I tried, but I had to hold my breath because his face was suddenly so close. I tried not to inhale.

"And yet you know you can't escape me," he murmured. "Why don't you accept it?"

I breathed through my mouth. "Well for one thing, you're only doing it to torture me."

A sadistic smile was evident in his voice. "You didn't seem like you were being tortured the other night."

The other...my blood chilled under my skin.

"I thought that was a dream..."

A tentacle curled and wrapped around my waist and held me to my spot. Did he think that i would somehow get away?

"It wasn't. The headache you felt was because i had tried to wipe your memory," he explained. "But then you fully gained your consciousness and i had to disappear."

...Well shit.

"Wait...why did you try to wipe my memory?" I questioned.

He paused before answering. I felt the apendage around me move slightly, not tightening but curling farther up my ribcage so that he had hold of my whole midsection. "I was experimenting." I was small, i knew that, so maybe he liked doing this to feel how much bigger and stronger he was than me.

"And how did that go?" I tried to ignore how my skin was crawling with an unnatural desire, and how i could only focus on wanting to close the space between us.

"Quite well I'd say..." His voice had become a whisper.

I begged quietly in a murmur, turning my face away. It was a hopeless mean of trying to escape. "Please don't..."

I felt the skin on my face cool as he grazed my cheek. I was drowning helplessly in a cold fire when he spoke. "Why do you fight it so much?...I know you want to end the agony, replace it with the comfort you so desire...so why resist it?"

Every breath i took was slowly reducing my strength, and my focus on trying to keep myself under control. But i managed to clear my head long enough to give a shuddering response. "It's not real. You don't mean it..." With newfound will I turned to face him. "And even if you did, I would only be hurt in the end. I'm not supposed to be happy. It always ends up just like it started. Alone...drowning..." And i lost my train of thought again. He was so close, all i had to do was put my arms around his neck...

I shook my head clear. However much i wished for it to be real, it wouldn't be. Not even him, a murdering monster, would care about an insane monster like me.

Suddenly he moved away, seeming to take my breath with him. He stepped backwards and went to the other side of the bed. Then he sat, and the apendage still around me pulled me to sit where i did before either of us had gotten up. He slid one long leg onto the bed so he was facing me. The black limb started to unfurl and stopped, as if hesitating, then it fully retracted.

"What makes you think of yourself that way? Every other human i've come into contact with thinks that their life should be spared, but for no logical reason. You are the opposite. Why?"

It took a minute to calm myself down, having lost the river of lava flowing under my skin. When i was okay again to speak correctly, I was bombared with the memories from the past. "I'm just not...a good person."

"Explain."

"I don't get close to people. I don't see a point, none of them really cared anyway. I don't act right...like i should. Something is wrong with me...I don't see anyone else who is like me. No one else lacks empathy, and holds a dislike for doing anything nice."

I gave a bitter laugh. "And let's not forget my hatred for the human race. They always have too much greed, want, or are just full of themselves. They all have some degree of it. The only reason I was taken into the orphanage was so that someone would feel like they saved a child from suffering. When really they were only prolonging my demise." I could feel my body tensing up, a result of harboring the anger inside. I tried taking a deep breath, but it did nothing to soothe me.

"I know very little about humans, but i don't think anything is...wrong, with you," Slenderman stated after a second. "You are different than them, but i do not consider it in a bad way."

I stole a glance at him. "Says the murderous monster. Of course you wouldn't think that someone like me is crazy."

"Do you really consider me a monster?"

As i thought about it, I realized that i didn't. I answered slowly, trying to make sense of it myself. "No...you're a mythical creature. The things you do terrify humans, so they think you're evil and that you must be a monster. I mean you do like to torture me and everything, but i don't think that's all there is to it."

"What if all i am _is_ a malevolent monster?"

I looked over at him and multiple black tentacles came out from his back, more than i had seen. They grew in length, twisting about in the air around us. Their sharp ends then split into smaller strands, and they shaped themselves into hands. Soon every one of them had hands at the ends, with sharp, pointed fingers.

"What if all i wanted to do..." A black limb drifted over to me, reaching out. "Was rip you apart?" It stopped in front of my face, the fingers slightly moving. They seemed to be deciding whether or not to grab my face and tear it from my body.

I looked at it curiously, not paying attention to the ones that were hovering up my arms and around the small of my waist. It was completely black, not seeming to have any texture at all to it. Carefully, I lifted one hand as slowly as i could, as not to move the ones surrounding me. When my hand was close to the black one, I noted how they were almost the same size. But he was naturally bigger than me.

The fingers seemed to expand slightly as my hand got closer. The palm was featureless, smooth. I let my fingers rest against it. It was cool, just like the rest of him seemed to be. He was living, right? Did he not have blood of some sort?

"Why is it so cold?..." I asked quietly, watching the fingers curl down slightly towards mine.

And i was touching nothing. Slenderman was no longer there. I let my hand fall back to my side, looking at the now empty space in front of me.

With a sigh, I collapsed onto the bed. I was laying halfway on my side looking at the blank ceiling above me. Tiredness washed over me, but i knew i wouldn't be able to sleep with my body being the way it was. After a few minutes of enjoying the complete silence, I got up and pulled some new clothes out of the dresser. A shower would be nice.


	4. Hell

My dinner was some more frosted mini wheats. I had to admit i could eat the stuff at any time of the day. I shoved a big spoonful into my mouth and began chewing, walking back into the livingroom. Sitting down on the couch, I realized quite a few things.

I was spending more time with Slenderman than any other human had, and he wasn't killing me. Yet...

He was utterly confusing me. One minute he was a cold monster who wanted to torture me, the next he seemed to be genuinly interested in what i was saying to him. Whether it be about people in general or just about myself...

I stopped chewing for a minute. It might be bad that i don't mind being around him...I should, but truthfully he was better company than any human had been to me. Apart from when he decided to use his stupid powers and make me drawn to him like some child.

Sometimes it wasn't just his powers, though...

I could recall several times when i hadn't been feeling the strange attraction, when i had just been talking with him and I felt almost...close. Like I wanted to just be able to sit next to him, and maybe even lean against him...

I set my bowl down and shook my head vigorously, the water from my hair stinging my face. A small laugh came out of my mouth, a cruel one towards myself. I really was more insane than i thought.

Should i be bothered by myself?

Nah...I'm fine.

...Not really.

* * *

Before i went to bed, I tidied up my room a bit. My boots look really worn and dirty...that's why i like them.

I pushed the dresser drawer closed. No more clothes on the floor. Maybe i could also-

_Crash!_

I instantly froze. That sounded like one of the windows in the livingroom. Was someone breaking in?

I listened more as i crept across the carpet, towards the open bedroom door. Before i went out, i quietly took my gun from my desk and clicked the safety off. At this point i cursed myself for choosing to wear shorts to bed. That meant less protection from getting hurt.

I turned the light off and went into the hallway, gun pointed in front of me. Empty. The clinking of glass could be heard from the kitchen. Slowly i went to the end of the hall, where the stairs were. I breathed deeply, trying to slow my heartrate so i could think without it pounding in my ears. When my feet began to carry me down the steps, I held my breath and hoped that they wouldn't creak. I kept my eyes trained on the bit of livingroom that i could see at the bottom, watching for any movement.

I hesitated at the two steps that were left. I didn't hear any more noise from the kitchen, which meant that the intruder could be anywhere in the house. But they also could have left.

Pulling my gun up so that my arms were bent, I went down into the livingroom.

Suddenly my vision was black as pain shot through the back of my head, and my body fell forward with the impact. I was numb for a second, before my vision cleared and I was staring at the gray carpet underneath me.

_Crap, get up!_

Slowly I tried to pull my elbow underneath me so i could get from my side onto my stomach, but my muscles were shaking too badly when i tried to move them. I could only stare at the gun in my outstretched hand, my finger on the trigger.

A black shoe suddenly kicked the gun from my hand, sending it across the floor. My eyes traveled from the shoe to the black pants, and the white hoodie with faded pink to bright red stains on it. I was regaining my motor skills as i looked farther up, into a pure white face. The corners of his mouth seemed to have ripped all the way up his cheekbones, and the flesh hadn't healed. Black, messy hair came down to the base of his neck, some of it shorter in the front.

I looked into his eyes, and realized that he had no eyelids. His completely unblinking pupils stared into mine. He had a soulless stare, but there was a glint of something else that i recognized well. Insanity.

"Fuck," I choked out, finally able to sit up on my elbows. I was completely screwed.

Jeff the Killer.

"Is there any whiskey in the kitchen? I found brandy, vodka, and wine, but no whiskey. Is it hidden in the pantry or something?" his gravelly voice asked.

"I don't know," I growled. "I don't drink."

His eyes seemed to darken. "Oh. Well then..." He then put his legs on either side of me and grabbed my throat, restricting my breathing. I was wheezing when he put his weight on my stomach, and began to pull something out of his sweatshirt pocket.

He leaned in close to my ear and hissed, "Go. To. _Sleep_..."

I saw him pull the knife out and raise it, ready to come down. When it came down i put all my strength into my arm and grabbed his wrist, halting the blade from coming down. His head pulled back and he glared at me, a bit of surprise in his eyes. His grip on my neck tightened, making it impossible to breathe. I had to do something. I wasn't about to be killed by him.

Somehow i brought my legs up and propelled him off of me, so he did a somersault over my head. I shakily got to my feet, turning. While he landed, I raced past him and dove for my gun next to the wall. As soon as my hand closed around it, I spun and fell back into the wall, ready to shoot.

Jeff was getting up from the floor, seemingly growling. He looked at me through the hair in his eyes with piercing anger. "You bitch."

My eyes were watering, as i was trying not to go into a coughing fit. I kept blinking the tears away and swallowing to calm the scratchy feeling in my throat. I disconnected my back from the wall, standing in a better stance as i kept the gun pointed at him. He scowled at me, seemingly trying to figure out what to do next.

My chest was rising and falling heavily. There was a throbbing in the back of my head from where i had been struck. I was just glad that i was still standing. I closed one eye and aimed the gun right at his head, between the eyes. I knew i had to do it. My finger pressed on the trigger.

The knife in Jeff's hand was tossed an few inches up from his hand, and when he caught it again, he launched it in my direction. I barely moved out of the way as it flew past, grazing the upper part of my arm.

Jeff suddenly tackled me, smacking the gun out of my hand and taking me to the floor. I rolled him to the side, trying to get the upper hand, and his knee buried into my stomach. Involuntarily I made a gagging noise, curling in on myself. He then ripped my hands from his sweatshirt and punched me, sending dots into my vision. It felt like my cheekbone was brusied immediately.

He was growling like a feral animal when I tried to kick him away, which only resulted in a fist to my ribs. He was letting his demon take over, I could see that. He was hitting me without stopping for breaks. Where the hell was my gun?

When Jeff rolled me onto my back and pinned me, I could see my gun just a foot away. I laid my hand against the floor and tried to reach for it.

"Don't even try!" he snarled, grabbing my arm and forcing it under his knee like my other. His hands closed around my neck again, wasting no time in stopping my air flow. "Look at me, I want to see the life fade from your eyes!" At the end of his sentence he started laughing, a high maniacal sound.

Funny things start to happen when you're suffocating. Lights become brighter, blinding, your ears seem to fill with water, and your body becomes completely numb. You can't move anymore.

While i was drifting out of consciousness, I didn't feel the need to fight anymore. Sure, this wasn't how I'd planned to die, but at least I wouldn't have to feel anything anymore. I guess it wasn't so bad. Slenderman would be pissed, though. He would probably tear Jeff to pieces for killing his toy.

Air suddenly rushed into my lungs, throwing me back into consciousness and bringing my senses back all at once. I rolled onto my side blindly and coughed until i had to stop to breathe again. While i was gulping air like a fish, I heard something slam into a wall.

A sputtering sound. Like someone coughing up blood.

Jeff's voice, rough and excited. "Hello again, Slendy!"

Another slam. When more unknown noises occurred, I blinked the blackness away from my vision and could focus on the scene in front of me.

A tall figure in a black suit was holding Jeff to the wall, a good distance from the floor. Black tendrils from the figure's back were wiggling around in the air, swarming like angry bees. A couple of them were shoved into Jeff, through his stomach and chest. A thick river of blood was flowing down the wall and puddling on the floor, too quickly to be stopped. Despite this Jeff was giggling through the blood flowing out of his mouth, a sickening gurgling sound.

"You seem _mad_," Jeff choked out. "Did I mess with one of your little proxies?"

They both disappeared. Was Slenderman going to kill him?

I lay on my side breathing deeply, feeling drained. I had to keep my breaths somewhat shallow, on account of the sharp pain in my entire midsection. I had lost count of how many times he struck me there.

A warm substance was coming from my left arm, drenching my T-shirt sleeve. I wondered how deep the cut was. His knife seemed to be able to cut through paper without an ounce of effort. I then saw all the damage on the interior of the house.

There was a large pool of blood on the carpet near the window, and a smear on the wall next to it. There were dents in a couple of the walls, where i guessed Jeff had been slammed. A few photo frames had fallen onto the floor, but none had been broken.

I coughed, sending more shooting pain through me. I cringed and waited for it to go away. I wanted to get up...but when i tried to lift my hand, if fell back down as if magnetized to the floor.

I really was weak...

Though, I had managed to stay alive and fight Jeff the Killer. Not for very long, but i did it. He was a lot bigger than me. I was a head shorter, and a lot skinnier than him. Not to mention that i barely had any muscle on me.

Well. I have come into contact with two supernatural killers so far. What was next? Eyeless Jack coming to steal my kidneys?

I would have laughed at myself, if it wouldn't have caused me extreme pain.

Feeling tired, I closed my eyes.

* * *

Something soft and cushiony was suddenly underneath me, instead of the hard floor. Drifting awake, I opened my eyes, and I was on my bed in my room. The next thing i noticed was that Slenderman was sitting next to me on the bed, reaching for my stomach.

"What are you doing?" I said pointedly, since i couldn't lift my hand to stop him.

His white face turned towards me. He looked calmer, not like the angry lion i witnessed in the livingroom. "You are injured."

"Well, it took you long enough to get here."

He seemed to smile, but then he was sullen again. "I should have known Jeff was around this area. He enjoys trespassing in my territory to taunt me."

"Did you kill him?"

"Yes...but he doesn't stay dead. He always comes back."

My eyes drifted to the desk across the room. "Wonderful." My gun was back where it was supposed to be. "I have to clean the mess in the livingroom..."

"No you don't. Everything is back to the way it was before Jeff even came near the house."

I looked at him, astonished. "How did you...right. supernatrual powers and all that. Nevermind."

His white hand hovered above my stomach again, making me want to scoot away, even though i knew i couldn't. "I know i asked this before, but what are you doing?"

He didn't halt this time, his fingers pinching the hem of my shirt. "You're hurt. I can heal your wounds."

"Why?" He stared at me in silence. I continued. "Why would you help me? I'm your slave, nothing more. So what if i get hurt? You shouldn't care..."

"You belong to me. That means I want you to be in good condition at all times. If you aren't, I have no use for you."

Crap. That made sense...

At my face of defeat, his hand moved to lift my shirt.

"Can't you just do it through my shirt?" I blurted, running out of ideas.

I bet his sadistic side was loving my discomfort. But he masked it well, simply giving reason for everything. "It doesn't work that way."

Well shit.

I groaned, which caused me to flinch and curl inward slightly, having forgotten how every move caused excruciating pain in my stomach. When I could relax again, I sank back into my pillows and controlled my breathing.

I could feel my shirt being lifted from my belly, and tugged upwards. However because i was laying down, it got stuck under me. I wanted to pull it up myself, but my arms wanted to deny me of doing anything.

I was suddenly cold as i felt two hands going under either side of my waist, gently moving the shirt up to the top of my ribcage. I winced, the contact making me have the urge to get close again. I stayed still while his hands disappeared.

I hadn't been touched by another being for a very long time. I hadn't let anyone. I could barely touch myself to get clean or get dressed. I almost hated contact of any kind, because I was so used to feeling the hate towards myself. But now there was nothing I could do.

It didn't feel bad, exactly. It was certainly different than human contact. I won't say it felt nice. But it felt almost...okay.

Curious, I looked down at my now exposed midsection. Black and bluish splotches were painted across my skin, some bigger than others.

"Holy shit," I muttered. I had gotten into fights before, but nothing had been as bad as this.

Slenderman's hand reached over the bruises, as if trying to find the best spot. He settled on just above my bellybutton. He pressed his cold hand onto my skin, making me hiss. The bruises were very fresh.

But then the stinging was replaced with a cooling feeling, and it seemed to spread under my skin to the other blotches. I watched as they slowly faded away until there were no marks on my pale stomach.

I could then breathe fully in and out, without any pain. I sighed in relief.

"You're very thin..." Slenderman murmured.

"I could say the same about you," I said, then grinned.

He sighed and shook his head at my horrible joke, only making me smile wider. His hand lifted, and a finger trailed down one of my ribs.

My diaphragm gave a shudder, and I slapped a hand to my mouth just as a giggle came out. With my other I flicked his hand, making him retract.

"What was...that?" he asked, seeming astonished at something he had caused.

I took a few breaths to calm myself and removed my hand from my lips. "Nothing. Just don't...do that."

He looked at me for a moment, silent, then reached over and did it again.

I choked myself on my laughter, trying not to let any come out. I slapped at his hand and pushed it away. I also pulled my shirt down again, glaring at his white face. Good thing I could move again.

"Don't," I threatened.

"Very well."

I didn't like the way his voice seemed to sound like he was making an evil smile. I wrapped my arms around my midsection just as a precaution.

"So why did it take you so long to show up?" I asked.

"I was hunting. I couldn't sense what was happening until i was finished."

"Oh. For a minute i thought that you did it on purpose because you enjoyed watching me getting my ass kicked."

"If it wasn't by Jeff, i might have."

I stuck my tongue out at him in what i hoped was an ugly face. "Why doesn't he stay dead?"

"He's become something unhuman. When he dies, he comes back ready to resume killing."

I nodded. "Why does he want to mess with you? You can obviously kick his ass."

Slenderman stood and slowly walked around. "Ever since our first battle, he keeps trying to provoke me. Maybe he thinks he will win someday."

"Heh. That's funny. Jeff's not that smart, is he?"

"He is, actually, but not in a way that you would think. He is intelligent in the way that people function and act. This is one reason he kills so efficiently."

I pushed myself up more to a better sitting position. Upon looking at my arm i discovered that the gash had already been healed, and the bump on the back of my head.

"He knows when i take an interest in a human. Tonight he learned something that he might try to use against me. He's done it before with my proxies."

I recognized the term. "I'm not a proxy."

"No, you're not. But he might think that you are. He might try to come and kill you again, and he wouldn't hesitate this time."

I moved my feet under the blankets and slid under them, pulling them up with my hands to cover me. "What are you saying?"

He was facing the window, holding the curtain aside with one hand. "I need to be more alert. I need to stay closer. You can't fight him by yourself."

"I don't know, I thought i handled it pretty well for a little bit." I smiled to myself and tucked the blankets up to my chin. I turned on my side, facing away from him.

"You're lucky he didn't kill you right away. He rarely ever hesitates."

I shut my eyes, feeling exhaustion wash over me. "Stop ruining my self-confidence."

He didn't respond. I assumed he had left, but then the light was turned off. I opened my eyes in the darkness and looked for his form but saw nothing. Content that he was gone, I let my eyes close.

Before I was fully asleep, just hanging on that last strand of consciousness, I heard the click of my gun's safety. I forced my sleepy eyelids open and sat up, trying to focus.

"Why are you playing with my things?" I asked.

Slenderman glanced back at me, his hands holding my gun. He was slightly bent over the desk. "I didn't mean to wake you."

I pushed off of the bed and stood, walking over to him with a yawn. "I wasn't asleep yet. What are you doing?"

He looked back down at the gun. "I was trying to see how this functioned."

I took it from his hands and turned the safety on. "This means you can't fire the gun. It blocks the gun's mechanism from working." Click. "Now you can."

When i handed it back to him, he kept staring at me. "You should be sleeping."

"I would say the same to you, but i don't know if you even sleep."

His free hand lifted and went towards my face, as if to touch my cheek. I stepped back untrustingly, giving him a quizzical look.

"I say again, what are you doing?" I asked.

"You have dark half-circles under your eyes. Are they bruises?"

"Sort of." I poked at them. "They are a result of my horrible sleeping patterns."

"So you _should _be sleeping."

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to find a response. "Well, shouldn't you be out hunting?"

He set the gun on the desk and looked away from me. "I'm staying here tonight."

"Why?"

"Jeff."

I gave a nod in understanding. Then I looked at his slightly bent frame, and I was curious. "Do you sleep?"

"Sometimes." He seemed to know that i was going to ask. I was a bit surprised that his response was so direct.

Hm. "Do you sleep...like us? Like humans?"

"Yes. As much as i dislike it."

I fell silent. I glanced back at the bed. It was a full, which meant room for two. I knew how crazy i sounded, even to myself, but somehow I wasn't that bothered by it. I probably should have been. But I didn't really care.

"Would you mind..." I had to take a breath and urge myself to continue. "Sleeping next to me?"

I winced, because of how stupid I felt and how he was probably going to respond. I was already mentally slapping myself repeatedly when he stood straight and turned to face me.

As his white face gazed at me, I hurried to try and retreat. "Nevermind, I'm just delusional...ignore me and resume your snooping." I spun around and walked back to bed. On the way there I slapped my forehead. _Imbecile..._

"Wouldn't _you _mind?"

I froze, my hand holding the lifted blankets. Well, now look what you did. With a sigh I climbed in and got myself comfortable. "As long as you don't try to cuddle me, I'm fine."

It's not a big deal. Just inviting a supernatural killer to come sleep next to you isn't bad...

...I'm so insane.

After a minute of silence, I thought he had teleported away to laugh at me. I wouldn't be surprised. But then the bed shifted, like weight was being put on it. I was glad I was facing away so he wouldn't see my freaked-out face. I wasn't freaked out in a bad way, just shocked. I bet I was the first human to ever sleep next to Slenderman, too.

...I have to stop being so weird.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw that he was on top of the blankets, on his back.

I rolled onto my back, thinking for a moment, then shook my head and rolled to face him.

"Don't you want to be under the blankets? Its warmer..." I feebly attempted. The stupid feeling returned.

"I've never needed warmth," he replied, voice quiet.

I chewed on my lip. "Why are your hands so cold?"

"My body temperature is lower than a human's normally. They aren't cold, they just feel that way to you."

"Oh." That made sense. My bladder then cried out to me. I rolled over with a sigh and stood, going towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to pee." I then thought that he might not understand what i said, but i shook it off and assumed he would. I went down the hall and into the bathroom, closing the door behind me.

* * *

Slenderman POV.

Slenderman was facing an internal conflict. Part of him was saying that he shouldn't even be there, he should be out in his forest. But the other knew that Jeff would return to the house, and Slenderman might not be able to stop him this time.

And laying here in _her _bed...what was happening to him?

Just as he was considering leaving, Rei came back into the room. She seemed to forbid herself from looking at him as she laid on top of the blankets. Slenderman could tell that her body temperature was too high for her to need more warmth. She curled halfway into a ball, facing away from him. She looked so small most of the time.

But not physically. Everyone looked small to him, he was always bigger than them. But Rei looked as if she was mentally trying to disappear. She was physically small, too, but it was the way she carried herself that made him realize what was going on inside her.

He hadn't seen any other human like her. When she looked at you, she could see right through you, into your mind. But when you tried the same, her dark blue eyes were blank. There was a wall there that no one could get through. Slenderman sometimes thought he saw that wall starting to break, when he would influence his power on her, trying to replace her hurt with warmth.

But then she would shut him out, just when he got too close.

Slenderman had been able to break into, manipulate, and eventually destroy every other human's mind that he came into contact with. It came easy to him, they were weak. Rei was constantly fighting. She was fighting him, as well as herself, and there would never be a clear winner.

Rei's breathing suddenly got very deep and slow. She had fallen asleep. Slenderman slowly pushed himself up, so that his upper back was resting against the pillows and his head against the wall. He usually slept in this position in a tree, any other way was uncomfortable.

As he stopped moving, Rei then rolled over in her slumber. She was now facing him. Her black hair was slightly covering one of her eyes, and the longer part was covering her shoulder. She was wearing a black T-shirt, which seemed to be her favorite style of shirt.

What was strange to Slenderman was the fact that she was wearing shorts. They were plain and black, seemingly made of cotton. He hadn't seen her expose more skin than her arms. The shorts went only to her thighs, leaving most of her pale milky skin exposed.

Moving slowly, Slenderman shifted onto his side towards her, putting his elbow on the pillow for support. He gazed at her sleeping form, from her bent legs to her hands that were folded up against her chest. One of her fists covered her mouth, the other simply laying on the bed. Her chest rose and fell steadily, indicating her deep unconsciousness.

What Slenderman noticed next was slight bruising on her left cheekbone. He had somehow missed that. He lifted his free hand and reached over slowly, watching to make sure she wasn't going to awaken. Carefully, he placed his finger on the mark. As it faded away, he kept his eyes on Rei's features to see if she would wake. Her breathing stayed completely normal.

The bruising was gone now. Slenderman lifted his hand to retract it, then stopped.

So many things about this human confused him. And made him angry...but also impressed him. She had confused him from the first day he came to her. Normally they scream, or yell at him, or try to run. But she looked at him expectantly, with no resentment or fear. She wanted what the others always tried to avoid. Normally he would have granted her that release, but something about her was different. Her soul, her emotions...they were so dinstinct from the others.

What filled him with anger was the fact that he wasn't treating her like his proxies. He wasn't forcing her to do his bidding, and he was actually interacting with her. He had never done that before. It puzzled him and left him confused, not knowing what else to do.

_Maybe I should kill her..._

Killing her meant no more hesitation, no unnatural behavior from him. Everything would be easier...

But it also meant taking away the high that being around her created for him. Because of her difference, he found himself drinking up every one of her emotions, characteristics. They were like an addiction for him.

He hated it...but couldn't let it go.

A small noise came from Rei, like a quiet whine. She then curled in on herself more and her body shuddered. Was she cold?

Slenderman watched carefully. She was still asleep. When her body gave another shiver, he leaned towards her, reached over and grabbed the blankets she had discarded. He pulled them over her form and before he could pull them past her hips, he felt something against his chest.

Looking down, he saw her face buried against him, her small hand still on her chin but slightly resting against him as well.

Slenderman froze in surprise. He had no idea what to do. This had never happened before. While he was in shock, Rei moved even closer to him, closing the space between them. She was now completely pressed up to him, save for the blanket between them. But he could still feel her body heat radiating onto him.

The only thought he could conjure was that she was so warm...he had no idea that warmth felt like this.

He didn't know where to rest his hand. He lad lifted it in surprise when she had moved again, and now there was no place on the bed to put it. He could move to lay on his back, but then the movement would cause her to wake up.

He knew that he should just teleport to the forest. Get himself out of the situation and go hunt...but somehow he couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt so tired...and her warmth was somehow relaxing him.

Losing the battle within himself, he slipped his arm down and laid it against his chest, copying Rei. His hand received a jolt of heat when he put it over hers. He thought back to when she had touched one of his black apendages, looking at it with such wonderment and acceptance. Her fingers had sent a current of electricity into him, the slight heat from her touch warming his very core.

He had to leave then. Something had stirred inside him, an unnatural pull that he was not used to. He wanted to get rid of it as quickly as he could. But even when he went back to the cold forest, he couldn't get rid of it, it seemed to simmer inside him for so long that he had to go and hunt in his frustration.

The only sound was her quiet breathing, slow and steady. Slenderman allowed himself to doze off. He wasn't sure if he would fully let his guard down yet.


	5. Conflicted

Back to Rei's POV

My consciousness was slowly coming back. I couldn't open my eyes yet, I wasn't that awake. I must have been in a deep sleep for this to happen.

I felt heavily relaxed, which was unusual. Normally my body was stiff, but I didn't do it on purpose. I couldn't bring myself to relax most of the time because it felt like I was letting my guard down. I needed to be ready for anything. Even when i slept, I was still tensed.

So why was i so relaxed?

I didn't notice it at first, I was still getting out of my slumber. But as i awakened more I felt it swirling in my stomach and up to my chest. It was what happened whenever i touched...

Dear God.

I blinked my eyes open and fought to focus. When i did, I was fully awake.

I was looking at a tie. Not just any tie. Slenderman's tie. And his black suit, with a white shirt underneath. I was seemingly pressed into it, as if i was...

(insert heart attack here) _cuddling_ him.

I could also see my hand, which was covered by his white one. It was so much bigger than mine.

Why was I...what the hell happened?

I could feel my heartbeat pounding through my chest. If Slenderman was asleep, he would definately wake up now. I could hear it in the silence of the room like a drum beat at a concert. My eyes were wide. Don't move...don't do anything. You're currently cuddling a creature that murders and eats people. You must stay calm.

"I see you're awake."

I swear my heart literally stopped for a second. I kept myself still, trying to figure out what the hell to do.

I finally decided. "Please kill me."

A door opened, then shut. "Rei? You up?" Tom's voice called from downstairs.

Before I could react, Slenderman was gone. All the air seemed to rush out of me. I felt very cold again, the emptiness returning inside at a steady pace. I stared at the vacant space in front of me and wondered why he hadn't left earlier.

"Rei?" Tom called again.

I pushed myself out of bed and went into the hall.

"How was your night shift?" I asked, hopping off the stairs and into the livingroom. Tom was setting some papers on the table by the couch. He looked up when he saw me, and he gave a warm smile.

"It was good. Was it okay here without me?"

A memory of the fight with Jeff flashed into my mind, and i shook my head. "Yep. I watched a couple movies then went to bed." I glanced at the windows and the spot where a river of blood had been, relieved that everything was clean and fixed. I couldn't even imagine how Tom would react if i told him that Jeff the Killer had shown up here.

"I need to go into town today. Do you want to go with me?" Tom asked.

I looked at his hopeful blue eyes and kind face. What was he doing with someone like me?..."Sure. What do you need there?"

He started taking his things off the table and putting them in his pockets. "I just need to speak with my lawyer about something. It shouldn't be that long. I could drop you off to wait somewhere so you won't be so bored."

"Sounds good."

I jogged back upstairs to get dressed and get my things. I changed into some new black skinny jeans and a black tank top. Thankfully it was looser at the bottom so it concealed my gun when i stuck it into my waistband. I took out a new black jacket and zipped it up. It was insulated with wool on the inside, and it was a little big for me. Oh well.

"You ready?" Tom asked from down the hall.

"Yes," I replied. I got my boots on and took one last glance at the empty room. Slenderman was probably hunting. How did i end up snuggling him like that?

I shuddered in embarrassment and went downstairs.

* * *

"So where do you want me to drop you off? The park? Or the store? I still have credit there if you want to buy something," Tom said as we drove through town.

I stared out the window at the various scenes. First i saw a man steal some rich lady's purse and run off, then there were two teenage boys punching each other. The amount of homeless people was too many to count.

"The park sounds good," I answered.

Tom grunted in response. "Do you have your gun?"

"Yes."

"Watch?"

"Mmhmm."

Tom pulled to a stop beside the sidewalk, next to the desolate park. "I'll be back in about an hour. Don't do anything reckless."

I dropped out of the truck onto the curb without looking back. "Yes Mommy."

I shut the door behind me and walked onto the familiar grass. After a moment i heard him drive away. Scanning the nearly empty park, I quickly recognized the large, familiar oak tree towards the forest line. I started walking over to it.

The park was connected to the forest on one side, and civilization on the other. People started getting smarter and stopped bringing their kids here when they realized that they were giving Slenderman direct access to lure them in.

I removed my hands from my pockets and found the footholds on the trunk of the tree where i usually put my feet. I stuck my hand in one and began my descent up. Soon i met branches and i could go up more easily. The tree was a bit worn from me sometimes scrambling up to hide before people could see me. Mostly it was just from the stupid girls who liked to chase me from school to try and beat me up for who knows what. I was always faster than them, and i could get up the tree before they even got into the park.

As i grabbed onto the thick branch that i used to pull myself onto my usual seat, I heard a creak above me. I looked up, and a figure was sitting a few feet above my spot, on another branch. I pulled myself up and sat on my branch, leaning back against another branch behind me.

"I couldn't fit on that spot. You fit it perfectly," the figure stated.

I focused more on their features. It was a boy, maybe sixteen. He wore black pants and black boots, and a T-shirt with an interesting logo on it. It was the Operator Symbol.

I smiled a bit at this. "You believe in Slenderman?"

His green eyes glinted when he gave a lopsided smirk. His black hair was spiked out in some places, looking messy. "Hell yeah. Everyone here does. I wear this shirt because it scares people. They don't like thinking about him too much."

I grinned. "That's a fun idea. I wish i had thought of that in high school."

He looked a bit downcast. "You're not in school anymore?"

"I'm 18. I graduated quite a while ago."

He leaned back seeming disappointed. "Damn. I wish there were more girls like you at my school."

"Are they all still preppy and orange? Or complete mental cases?"

"Yes and yes."

I shook my head. Some things will never change, i guess.

"The school board tried to ban me from wearing this shirt," the boy said, straightening said shirt. "They acted as if I had murdered people myself just by wearing this. You should have seen their faces every time they saw me."

"I can imagine." Some people thought that if they didn't think about him, he didn't exist. Or if they stamped out the evidence of his existence, he wasn't real. But the truth was, Slenderman just didn't give a shit. He would take you if he felt like it.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

I looked up at him again. "I've been coming here since before you were in school. I come here to look down upon all the idiots that live here."

"Hey, me too!"

He sure grinned a lot. If I was younger, i might have called him cute. But when i was his age i was the creepy girl that no one wanted to talk to. It seems there's always going to be that one kid in every school.

"You're really pretty, you know," the boy said.

I sighed. He must be just hitting puberty. In that stage, almost any girl looks attractive. I looked up at him and gave him a blank look. "Don't make me shoot you."

He laughed. "Shoot me?"

I unzipped my hoodie and lifted my shirt a bit, letting him see the handle of my weapon. His eyes widened a bit and i put my shirt down.

"My parents won't let me have a gun. So unfair," he huffed as i zipped my jacket back up.

"You're too young to have a gun anyway."

He gave me an incredulous look. "Are you kidding? With Slenderman around, everyone should have something to defend themselves with."

"Guns don't work on him." I realized I might have just made a mistake.

"How do you know?"

I tried to explain my way out of it. If i couldn't, I could just pretend to be proxy and scare the kid a bit. That would be fun. "He's a supernatural monster who kidnaps and eats children for their souls. You really think a gun can hurt a creature like that?"

The boy frowned in defeat, a thoughtful look crossing his features.

"And why are you so worried about your safety? You're wearing his symbol around on your shirt. Some say that's how he watches you. It calls to him," I added.

The boy's eyes narrowed. He gained a suspicious look on his features. "Are you a proxy or something?"

I swallowed a bit of laughter. "No. If you encountered a proxy, you'd know it. They're the ones that sometimes take you into the woods to feed you to Slenderman."

He was astonished again. "Oh shit. What do they look like?"

"Sometimes they look like everyone else. But usually they have Slender Sickness, it's where Slenderman takes over their mind and distorts in until they give in to insanity and obey his will." I will admit I was enjoying the thrill i was giving the kid. He soaked up every word as if every new bit of info would help him prepare against Slenderman.

"Wow."

"I would also reccomend that you not try to learn more about him or look him up. When people do that, he senses it and he can come after you."

"Well I'm probably going to disappear soon, then."

The boy had a worried look on his face, rubbing his mouth with his hand and looking out at the park. After a minute he looked at me again. "Is there any way to keep him from coming after you?"

I checked the time on my watch and saw that it was time to go. As i took hold of the branch in front of me to get down, I answered him. "I wouldn't worry about it. He feeds on your fear. And he wouldn't take someone who actually has a brain like you, he would take the ones that no one would miss. Like the stupid girls at your school." I slid my feet down to a lower branch. "Bye, kid. And don't go near the forest."

He only grunted sullenly in response. I started to climb my way down the tall tree, remembering how i loved how tall it was. You could overlook the whole park from my spot. I heard the horn of Tom's truck, blaring once. I grabbed onto the last branch and dropped to the ground. Once on the grass i made my way back to the spot where I had been dropped off. Tom's truck sat waiting by the curb.

When i was in my seat I looked over at him. He seemed different. His face didn't hold the usual warm smile, instead a frown was in place. It looked like he was trying to make it go away. His lips twitched. "How was the park?"

"Desolate...but i like it that way," I replied.

He finally managed to shake off the frown and give me his usual smile, the one that made all his wrinkles and lines become even deeper. His eyes crinkled at the corners.

It wasn't really my business what had happened with the lawyer. I let us bathe in silence for the rest of the car ride and took to watching out the window.

Most of what i had told that kid that was in my tree was nonsense. Some of it might have been true, but i was making it up as i went along. I never actually learned very much about Slenderman. I knew who he was, and what he did, but that was it. I wasn't interested in becoming an obsessed paranormal investigator about it. I knew to stay away from shit like that.

All those unlucky souls...why did he need them, anyway? Was he soulless?

I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead. I needed to stop thinking about it. It wouldn't do any good. Not like there was any good left for me...I had stuck myself in the worst situation possible in the universe.

But was it really that bad?...

"Would you mind if we stopped at the diner for lunch?" Tom's voice cut into my thoughts.

"I don't care," I responded, not paying that much attention. I put my chin in my hand. It must be a bad thing that i attracted the attention of a supernatural murderous being, right? Slenderman took children and consumed their souls, leaving fear and no evidence in his wake. Some people thought that if they tried not to believe in him, that he would go away. He wasn't fueled by their belief, though.

People really are stupid.

But, that's all they can think to do when hysteria takes over. I suppose it's in their nature or instincts of some sort.

Maybe something was wrong with my brain. The way i think...People always scream and cry and deny. I can accept things and move on with it, I know there's no escaping some things. I've known that ever since i can remember.

Tom's truck slowly pulled into the parking lot in front of the diner. The building was shaped like an oval, and looked ready to collapse at any moment. With a sinking feeling I recognized the place.

Staring at me as he undid his seatbelt, Tom gave me a concerned look. "Rei, you okay?"

The warm look in his eyes and the way his brow was creased made me want to punch myself. Repeatedly. Until I turned into hamburger meat. And then the stray dogs on the streets would eat up my remains and poop them out into a pile of rotting garbage.

I didn't want to be anywhere near this place. But Tom was here, so it should be fine. Hopefully. "Yeah, I'm just really hungry. Let's go."

We both got out. On the way inside I prayed that a certain waitress wouldn't be there...or that the roof would cave in on me and crush my entire body before we got to our table. Either one sounded wonderful. I tugged my hood down more so it would hopefully hide my face.

"Table for two? Oh, hey Tom! It's so nice to see you again! You're looking younger every time i see you!"a nasally voice said. Then there was the obnoxious popping sound of gum.

Well shit.

"Yes please," Tom answered. "And it's nice to see you too, darling." I ducked behind him as he followed the waitress to our table. It just had to be THIS waitress. This wasn't going to end well, at all.

I was automatically trying to figure out how i would escape the building if hell broke loose. We sat down across from each other and thankfully she was facing Tom instead of me. I kept my head turned away from her, trying to look interested in the nothing that was going on outside.

"What'll it be to drink?" the waitress asked.

"Water for us both," Tom said. I knew he was staring at me, knowing something was up. He didn't want to make a scene in front of the woman. I admired him more every second.

"Alrighty. Coming right up."

When i felt it was safe, I faced Tom and looked at him through the shadow of my hood. He had an almost sad, worried expression.

"What's going on? If you don't want to be here, we can go."

I glanced around through the corners of my eyes without moving my head from facing his direction. "I'm fine. I want to eat here."

"Then why are you acting like someone's out to get you?"

The inner me gave a loud laugh at this. I was a slave to Slenderman, and Tom thought I was afraid of some nasal-voiced waitress. "I'm not."

Before he could interrogate me further, the two water glasses were set on the table. I ducked down again.

"I'll give you a little bit to decide what you want to order," the waitress stated, setting menus down next to the water. I looked up slightly and saw her skirt flowing as she walked away. My hood covered the rest of her.

"Rei..." Tom said in a warning tone.

"I want the omelette," I said without looking at the menu. I was facing Tom again, and he was giving me a suspicious look which i returned with a blank stare. I pushed the laminated menu towards him.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked. His voice got softer, it had a warmth to it that i had never experienced. Never had parents to use that tone on me.

"Nothing's going on. What are you getting?"

He only pursed his lips at me. His wrinkles grew deeper, his frown seeming to embed into his skin. I tore my eyes away and looked down at my lap again.

I _really _wished the ceiling would collapse and bury me in all the rubble.

"Ready to order?"

Great. Don't look at me, just keep your stupid eyes on Tom...

"We'll have the bacon cheeseburger with fries and an omelette," Tom told her. There was a sliding noise when he handed her the menus from the table.

"Your friend ain't much of a talker, is she?" the nasal voice asked.

I froze in place. I had a bad feeling of what would happen next.

"No, she's not," Tom agreed.

"Is she one of your grandkids, or...wait a second..."

And here it comes.

I lifted my head a little so I could see her body but not her face. She wore a pink skirt with a minty green shirt, and an apron with large pockets for carrying her notepad and whatever else she needed.

"It _is _you!" she snarled then. "What the hell are you doing here, bitch?!"

I sighed at the impending doom to come and looked over at Tom. His mouth was slightly ajar, and he glanced from her to me in confusion and shock. "What's going on here?"

I took that moment to scan the restaurant. Yep everyone was staring because of the waitress's outburst. This is just wonderful.

"She broke into our kitchen and stole from it! It was just a few months ago! She also took money from the register, money that was going to MY paycheck!" the waitress announced at the top of her lungs. God, her voice made me want to claw my ears off and clog the holes with my blood and carnage.

"Come here, bitch!"

Before i could react, her manicured hand grabbed my arm and yanked me up from my seat so suddenly that my hood fell off and I got to see her snarling face. She was the one who had caught me when I was almost done with my raid and she tried to catch me but I tripped her and made her fall into a bucket of dirty mop water. I had laughed at her, all her makeup running down her face with her angry tears.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I snapped, yanking my arm back when she tried to pull me towards the door.

"We reserve the right to refuse service form anyone! And you stole from us, which i should report you for!" she rambled.

When she made another grab for me, Tom stood up and blocked her.

She huffed and tried to make herself sound calm. "Tom, you know i respect you, but she's a criminal. She has to suffer the consequences of her actions."

Tom was quiet for so long, I thought he was going to hand me over. I looked behind me for some other exit. There was the emergency exit that would set off the alarm, but it might have to do. I hoped i could run to the forest before the police showed up.

"Nancy. I'm not asking you to excuse her behavior and choices. But she was homeless at that time, and she had to survive. You would have done the same things as her if it came down to it."

I stared at Tom's back in surprise. Was he trying to defend me?

The waitress sputtered. "But-"

"But nothing. If she leaves, i do too. And i can tell you right now that she's not about to run and ransack your restaurant. People change, Nancy."

I took hold of Tom's sleeve and pulled. "Don't, let's just go. It doesn't matter."

I could now see Nancy's flaring nostrils and her red lips pulled over her teeth in a very angry expression. There was a moment of complete silence, and i tried to ignore the burning stares i felt from every other person in the building. I knew they wanted me to leave.

"Tom...I can't let her stay here. I'm sorry," Nancy said, glaring at me at the end. Her tone completely betrayed her apology.

Fixing her with a dark scowl, I pushed past Tom to go to the door. When i passed her, she tried to grab my arm to lead me out. I grabbed her thin little wrist and twisted it hard. She gave a shriek and sank to her knees, trying to pry my fingers off.

I bent down into her pain-filled face. "If you ever touch me again, I'm going to rip your pretty manicured little hand _off_ and shove it down your throat."

Tears spilled out of her eyes and she nodded quickly, wanting desperately to be released. I flung her hand away and proceeded to the truck outside. I sat in the passenger seat of Tom's truck and slid down so my knees were against the dash, and so i couldn't be seen. When Tom didn't come out, I sat up a little and saw him helping the waitress to the back area of the restaurant, probably to put ice on her hand.

Oh, come on. I didn't even break it. Just sprained it a little.

Giving a growl of anger, I took a pen and piece of paper from the glove box and wrote a note.

'_Be back at home before dark. Need to go on a walk.'_

I set it on Tom's seat and left the vehicle. Stepping back out into the cold air gave me a sense of familiarity. I pulled my hood back on and started down the sidewalk, my hands in my pockets.

I passed by all the things i had been watching through the window of Tom's car. I actually had to move aside to avoid being knocked down by a boy who seemed to be running for his life. Not far behind him was a group of more boys, yelling after the first and waving their fists. Idiots...

I stepped into an alley and waited for a second, then stuck my foot out and tripped the first boy in the group. He fell on his face with a yelp, and the others fell over him in a pile of pissy, shouting boys. I stepped around them and continued my walk as they tried to detangle themselves and asked what the hell happened.

I couldn't stop myself from grinning.

After a half hour of walking through the streets I had once had to survive on, I came to the edge of the forest that was at the end of the park. I looked up into the tall, dark trees and the shadows they cast over the small plants on the forest floor. The leaves crunched under my feet when I walked into the dark place.

To my surprise, I glanced at one of the trees on my side and found something carved into it. Upon closer inspection I saw that it was the Operator Symbol. I reached up and traced the indents of it. Some kid probably put it there to warn people away from here.

My feet carried me further. It was quiet, save for the occasional chirping bird. There was a bit of fog on the ground when I was farther in, away from civilization. I looked from the puff of fog moving across my feet to the trees. Slenderman could blend in with any of them if he chose to. He could just wait for a child to pass by, and they would be gone.

Slenderman didn't show up yet. He might be busy or something...

A song suddenly popped into my head, and a devilish smile spread across my lips. I opened my mouth and took a deep breath. (A/N: Here's the song, i reccomend listening to it, just type youtube into the search bar and add this to the end of it; watch?v=Kr5m2RJyoKs)

"_Slender Man, Slender Man, All the children try to run...Slender Man, Slender Man, To him it's part of the fun."_

I waited a little bit, trying to see a reaction anywhere. When there was nothing, I continued.

_"Slender Man, Slender Man, Dressed in darkest suit and tie...Slender Man, Slender Man, You most certainly will __**die**__."_

I gave a giggle not unlike the one in the original song.

_Slender Man, Slender Man, His branching arms are for collecting. Slender Man, Slender Man, His face is empty of expressing._

_Slender Man, Slender Man, He won't let you say goodbye. Slender Man, Slender Man, You most certainly will die."_

I then gave another laugh. I hummed the tune and took my hands from my pockets to hold onto trees and keep my balance while I stepped over forest debris.

_"Slender Man, Slender Man, Sometimes hums a lowly drone. Slender Man, Slender Man, He will wander 'round your home._

_Slender Man, Slender Man, blends in well within the trees, Slender Man, Slender Man, In the fog he's hard to see."_

I could now faintly hear noises from behind me. With a grin I continued my walk, finishing the song.

_"Slender Man, Slender Man, Dressed in darkest suit and tie. Slender Man, Slender Man..."_

I felt soomething looming behind me, casting a faint shadow in front of me. I came to a stop and stood still, feeling a grin come onto my face. _"You most certainly will diiiieee..."_

Suddenly something wrapped around my ankle and yanked me so i almost fell on my face. When I caught myself on my hands and knees, it released and seemed to vanish. But then I heard a faint but echoing chuckle ring through the trees.

So Slendy wants to play...

Getting to my feet, I scanned the area around me. If he was just standing next to a tree, I wouldn't know it. They all look the same in the fog.

I heard a rustle behind me and spun, but he moved behind me and I could see black tendrils reaching around to elcose me. I turned around again, and he disappeared. He seemed to slide across the ground, or hover whenever i saw him.

More quiet laughter echoed through the air. It could have been from anywhere, the fog distorted everything. I kept looking around me and was careful to not face one direction for too long.

A faint buzzing filled my ears, a small effect of the headache he usually caused. He was close. I slowly backed up, trying to keep my footsteps as light as possible so i could move faster. I looked at the trees carefully to try and find one that looked different from the rest. This was a hopeless effort.

Where could he be?...

Suddenly i bumped into something behind me and immediately cursed.

Cold hands covered my eyes then, and a voice spoke close to my ear. It sounded soft and smooth, yet dangerous at the same time.

"So easy..."

I moved his hands off and turned slowly. There he stood, in his suit and tie. Except this time, his back was hunched forward, and multiple tendrils were sprouted from his back. They moved about in the air, like snakes trying to decide when to attack. His hands were down by his sides, but slightly bent up as if to grab me. His entire structure seemed to have changed to a more rigid, sharp one.

"Is this what you look like when you're hunting?" I asked as I looked him over. He did look different, more tense than usual. When I had seen him he always looked aloof and calm. But now he was like a spring ready to bounce up.

"Sometimes." He then made an effort to stand straighter, the tentacles retracting. While he did so I could hear and see his muscles reforming to his original stance. It sounded like eggshells breaking. But it didn't seem to be painful.

"You weren't frightened?" he asked, his back still adjusting to be completely straight. He was now around 9 feet tall.

I craned my neck to look up at him. "No. I thought it was kinda cool, actually."

With one final pop, he was in his normal shape again. "Weren't you supposed to be with your human friend today?"

"I was. But we ran into someone who wasn't very fond of me, and things just got out of hand...I had to get some air."

He gave a nod. He was quiet for a few moments. "That song...what was it?"

I gave a laugh and sat down on a log to fix my boot which had become untied when he tripped me. "It's called The Slender Man Song. Someone made it up and put it on the internet, which is where i came across it. I thought it was fun to randomely start singing it around crowds of people. They looked so scared." I let go of my boot and looked up at his white face. "Is it annoying?"

"It is...creative."

His tone made me realize that he actually liked it. The song did have a catchy tune and lyrics to it, even if it was about a murderer stealing children. But hey, I never said I was a good little girl.

"Why are you here?..." Slenderman asked.

I opened my mouth to respond, then realized I didn't have an answer. I could have just taken the road back to Tom's house, or stayed at the park for a while. Why DID i come here?...

"I don't know," I answered, letting him see the confliction on my face. "I guess my subconscious thought that being with you was funner than sitting around somewhere. Or maybe i'm just crazy...I would go with the second reason..."

He didn't reply. I looked down at the dead leaves and forest debris by my feet. Maybe I should just head back...Yeah. I have no reason to be here...

I stood and glanced behind Slenderman, seeing a familiar log that i had almost tripped over on my way here. That was the way back. I went around his tall figure and started walking.

"Where are you going?" he asked, appearing next to me and walking beside me. His form seemed to move levelly, gracefully, as if he barely touched the ground.

"Back to town, and then to Tom's house," I replied. I kept my gaze ahead of me.

"...I didn't say you had to leave."

I stepped over a large log of rotting wood. Bugs scurried out of various holes and indents. "I know."

"Then why are you?"

"I don't think I really have a reason for being here...you can go back to your hunting."

I stepped on top of a large fallen tree that stretched farther than i could see. The wood had moss and other plants growing across it, sucking all of its remains away. I took another step forward and the hollow shell creaked under my feet.

The wood under my right foot then fell through, and I cursed as my foot started falling into the hollow of the tree.

A hand took mine on my left side and pulled me upright. I could now yank my foot from the wood shell and put it in a sturdier area. I looked to my left, where Slenderman was simply stepping over the fallen log that I'd had to practically climb on. Him and his tallness.

When I hopped down over the log, I realized he still had my hand. Instead of freaking out and snatching it back, I looked up at him, questioning. He didn't say a word.

"Is there a reason you're still holding my hand?" I asked bravely.

"Do you not want me to?" he simply returned.

I couldn't recognize his tone and it confused me. I could feel a substantial amount of warmth, however, coming from my hand and spreading up my arm. It was half of his natural pull, and something else...something I couldn't describe.

It wasn't bad...but I still wasn't used to it. I never had felt a sensation like this. I was thinking clearly enough that I came to the conclusion that I had two choices. I could just take my hand back, he wasn't holding onto it tightly. And all the feeling would be gone. Or I could just ignore the fact that I was holding the hand of a supernatural being who could kill me at any moment. And enjoy the feeling while it lasted.

Before I had a chance to decide, the forest around us suddenly changed to the outside of Tom's house. When we changed locations, Slenderman's hand had fallen from mine.

I wasn't about to grab it back. Even if i wanted to. Or didn't.

Tom's truck was absent from the usual space where he parked. I went up to the front porch, and there was a note on the door. I took it in my hand and felt Slenderman's face near my ear as he read it too. I rolled my eyes at the creature beside me.

'_Had to go to work. Sorry about the diner...I'll make it up to you when you get back. I'll be home around 3 or 4 in the morning. I'll try not to wake you. -Tom'_

Well...I'm a bitch.

Sighing heavily I used the spare key Tom gave me to open the door and go inside. Surprising to me, I was followed by the tall man dressed in a suit.

I put the key down on the table. "Why did you bring us here? I could have just walked."

"You looked troubled. I could see the conflict in your eyes."

I kept looking at him, a bit dumbfounded. Did he know what I was mentally arguing about? He flowed past me and began to inspect the various items that Tom had lying around the livingroom. Decorations, furniture, etc.

I noticed him gradually shrinking in height, from 10 feet to 8, then 6. He was such a strange thing to watch. It was like watching special movie effects, but they happened for real right in front of you.

Everything about him confused me to some degree. When you saw his tentacles, they looked hard and rough. But their actual texture was soft and almost human-like. Almost. His pure white skin was like a human's, and I'm sure he hated it. But it was a bit softer than a persons. No one could ever have skin that soft, no matter how many surgeries and mosturizers they tried.

I'm sure I was the only one to ever think this of him, but he really was a beautiful creature. It wans't because of his human apparel or shape, but rather he himself. However evil he may be.

"You're staring."

I blinked and wanted to die right then. He was halfway facing me, one hand in his pocket. The inner me was trying to bury herself 100 feet under.

I cleared my throat. "I was just zoning out."

What the hell is wrong with me?...

Oh, yeah. Many things.

As i kept gazing at his chest unable to look at his face, I gave a sigh and turned to go to the kitchen. "I'm going to make some food..."

And decapitate myself.

The things i needed were all set on the island in the center of the kitchen. I was pouring my cereal when, of course, Slenderman came in. I didn't look at him as I poured the milk into my bowl.

When he said nothing, I paused, shoving my spoon into the mini wheats. I looked up through my hair at him. He was just standing there, being Slenderman. Unmoving.

"Can i help you?" I asked. I spooned some cereal into my mouth.

"I've never had anyone ask me that before," he stated, sounding amused.

"Well i think most people's initial reaction to you is to run, scream, cry, or all of the above." I swallowed my mouthful. "Or wet their pants."

"Why have you never been afraid?"

I thought about this for a moment. "I don't remember feeling fear. I mean i did when i was a little girl, when it came to someone jumping in front of me and trying to give me a heart attack. But i wasn't afraid of the dark like the other kids. I preferred it, because I could hide in it. It felt comfortable."

I took another bite of my meal. "But I haven't been afraid of anything i can think of since then. Some things that scare other people just aren't things to be feared, in my opinion."

"So...you think that I shouldn't be feared?"

"Yes you should. It's just that I don't. I came to you _wanting _to be killed, remember? That's pretty much the worst you could do to me. And it would be a favor."

"Oh, how wrong you are..."

I was suddenly pushed against the counter beside me, with an apendage squeezing my midsection and a hand at my throat. Both were tight, restricting my breathing, but not completely. I stared into Slenderman's featureless face, right in front of mine.

"There are _so_ many things I could do to you that would be considerably worse than ending your life," he said, his voice low and threatening, but still purring when it hit my ears. "You just don't think about them, because you don't believe that I would actually follow through with them."

I swallowed so I could speak. It strained me, but i still made the effort. "I know you would do it-but you don't. I don't know why-maybe it's God's sick way of punishing me. You and I both know that you should-so why don't you?"

I swallowed again. "You could go back to what your routine was before I came along, and I could be where I belong, in hell. Or limbo, I don't really give a shit."

His hand tightened. I shut up, and I was allowed to breathe again.

"Rei...I could _destroy_ you. I could tear every fiber of your body apart. I could rip out all of your organs, your eyes, torture you through your dreams, make you see things that would drive you to the brink of insanity. And you wouldn't be allowed to fall off the edge. You would stay, suffering, until there was nothing more in your mind than the will to serve me and my will."

He got more in my face. I was struggling to breathe, and his head tilted slightly to the side.

"I could use my power to fragmentize your brain, from the inside out. There would be nothing left of you...no soul, no thoughts...only an empty shell. A carcass."

A heavy buzzing filled my ears, but only enough to bring discomfort.

"The possibilities are endless, Rei...all it would take is a fraction of effort. I could turn you inside out...I could _rape _you...do you really want any of that?"

My breathing was quick and short. I flinched at the slight scratching in the back of my throat. "It's not up to me...You're the one who's making me stay here. You can do what you like. It won't matter. Even if i didn't want it, it's not like i could stop you."

He seemed to give a small growl. After a moment, his hand around my neck loosened a bit, enough to allow me to breathe normally again. I sucked in air gratefully and the spots cleared from my vision. Slenderman's other tentacles were out as well, writhing behind him silently, restlessly. I looked back to his white face.

Still, there were no features besides a few indents where they would go if they existed. There was a small bump in the spot where his nose would be, almost as if one would grow in. But it never would.

He gave a noise of anger. "Why do you look at me with those eyes? There is _nothing_ underneath the surface! All i am is evil, little human. I'm no angel to save you from your pitiful existance. Why do your eyes look as if you're so certain that I'm...more than simply a monster?"

I gave a small, genuine, sad laugh. "I can't tell you that...I know that you must be completely evil, heartless, cruel. But i can't answer your question...because I don't know, myself." I kept looking at his perfect face. So perfect...that's what he was.

"But you haven't acted like a monster very much around me. If you think about it...you seem to put up with me as if you didn't mind being around me. And how you tolerate me, I'll never know." I wasn't coming up with the right words. I couldn't really think straight...I never could. And being near him wasn't helping.

Out of pure wonder and impulse, I lifted my hand towards him.

"What are you..."

Not answering, my fingers rested against the white fabric of his shirt. I then slipped my hand slightly under his suit. Right where his heart would be.

Slenderman remained silent, staring at me. I waited for anything, a beat, or something...it was completely quiet in the room. It was as if the whole universe had silenced.

I felt a faint thump. Then another. He had a heart of some sort, even if it wasn't something to call a heart. It could be an organ that kept him sustained just as a human heart kept a human alive.

I felt frustration coming off of him in waves, making my skin prickle. What was he so angry about?...

The apendage around my waist curled around me further, going up all the way to the top of my ribcage. But it didn't get tighter.

"You're so small..." Slenderman murmured. I looked back up into his face, and he had gotten considerably closer to me, almost completely closing the space between us. The urge to melt into him was unbearable. I wanted to trap him in an embrace and hold him there until the burning ache went away, and all that was left was complete bliss.

"I could crush you so_ easily_...why do you...do this?"

The inner me was still trying to fight, squirming and attempting to get away from the warmth and comfort that was surrounding her. But my physical body wouldn't let me, I could only stay in place and try not to think about the fire running through my veins.

The hand left my throat. As i stared at Slenderman, the buzzing in my ears got heavier, and suddenly my head was pounding. Soon it became blinding, and I had to shut my eyes to keep any light out.

Then he was gone.

Silence. The migrane gradually went away, and I kept my eyes closed until it was. While I waited i could feel my usual emotions returning and filling my insides. There were so many of them, but they all made me feel so hollow. Empty.

I inhaled deeply, feeling normal again. My eyes opened. I looked around the desolate kitchen and saw my half-eaten bowl of cereal. I decided I wasn't going to finish it as I dumped it down the sink.


	6. Unhinged

Just go to sleep...shut your mind-face and sleep...

With an angry growl I threw my pillow across the room. It landed on the desk and managed to knock almost everything off of it. I slammed back down to the bed on my back, now completely flat and staring at the ceiling. I've been laying here for hours and I can't fall asleep. I keep thinking about HIM and myself and...

Just shut up, Rei.

I rolled onto my stomach and pressed my face into the bed, using my arms to cover my head. I was tired, pissed, and I just wanted to go to sleep. Just for a little bit. I could go take some of Tom's sleeping pills, but I hate it when I get that fuzzy high feeling that makes it hard to concentrate. No pills then.

I sighed. What do i do?

There was a faint light coming through the window that illminated my room just enough that i could see everything. My things were on the floor with the pillow, my boots thrown under the desk, and clothes were hanging out of the dresser. But hey, it was definately better than sleeping out in the street. Then again, I can't seem to sleep at all.

With a deep breath, I pushed myself up and got out of bed.

The livingroom was barren and silent. I thought about watching a movie or a show on TV, but I was too irritated to concentrate on something like that. So i decided to lay on the couch. It was soft and cushiony, a little different than my bed upstairs. I stared up at the ceiling lights that were off. The only light came from the windows that covered one wall of the large room.

A glance at the digital clock on the table at my feet told me that it was already 5:32. Wait...wasn't Tom supposed to be home?

The phone suddenly gave a loud ring, making me jump as my soul seemed to leave my body for a second. I reached over and took the phone off its holder.

"Hello?" I asked suspiciously after i pressed the 'talk' key.

"Is this Rei? I'm Tom's boss," a male's voice said on the other line. His voice was shaky, as if he was worried about something.

I sat up on the couch. Something wasn't right. "Is Tom okay? He was supposed to be here by now."

"Tom's in the hospital..."

...Shit.

I ran upstairs to my room and pulled clothes from my dresser, holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder. "What happened?" I yanked my jeans on haphazardly.

"The doctors said he had a heart attack...he's fine now, but he wanted me to come get you. He said he has to talk to you."

I held the phone away from me for a moment and pulled on my shirt. "Alright. Hurry up."

"Be there soon."

I hung up and tossed the phone onto my bed. What could Tom possibly want to talk about right now? He needs to be resting so he can come home when he's better.

Soon I had all my things, and I practically jumped down the stairs and flew out the door. While I was locking the door with my spare key I heard a car pull up in the gravel driveway. I turned to see a black expensive-looking car. Hopping off the porch and jogging over to it, I felt a chill crawl up my spine.

Before I opened the car door I turned and glared into the dark trees. Then I got in the car.

The man was in his twenties it looked like. His hair was a dark brown, with brown eyes to match. His skin seemed to be a flawless cream color. He glanced over at me, putting the car into reverse and backing out onto the road. I didn't bother putting my seatbelt on. It was only a few minutes to town.

The man opened his mouth, then closed it, as if he was trying to figure out something to say. Finally he did. "My name is Jared. It's nice to meet you..."

I kept my gaze on the road in front of us. Half of me expected a large and pissed Slenderman to appear in front of us and cause a car wreck, then pull me out and yank my organs out through my nose. Wouldn't that be nice?

"Tom talks about you a lot," Jared continued, interrupting my sweet silence. "He really has a soft spot for you." He gave a nervous smile.

Anyone else would have said that he had a great smile. I couldn't care less. I just wanted to get to the damn hospital and figure out why Tom didn't want to wait until he got home to talk to me. Yes, I was still angry. Not as much, but i still wouldn't reccomend provoking me at the moment.

Jared gave a shaky chuckle. "You don't talk much, do you?"

You don't get much, do you?

Turning my head slightly towards him, I fixed him with a blank stare. He seemed surprised by my unblinking eyes. He glanced from the road to me, trying to figure out what to do. His whole body seemed to be wracking in anxiety.

Rather than watch him implode, I blinked and turned back to my original position. This was just pitiful. People didn't read signs very well.

Thankfully he shut up for the rest of the car ride. Although he did look at me a couple times as if to see if I would speak. I simply ignored him, something I'm good at doing. Some things just didn't need to be acknowledged.

I hate hospitals. Most people just say that because they're afraid of needles or some shit, but I literally hate everything about and having to do with hospitals.

The smell instantly gags me when I walk in. I'm met with the sight of bustling nurses and doctors, and a crowd of patients suffering from a rainbow of different ailments. This is the ER area of the building. The most wonderful part.

"He's this way," Jared states, motioning for me to follow him. We go to the left, to a wing where patients are just recovering from whatever they were brought in for. I have to skirt around a bed laying in the hallway with a girl sitting upright on it who looked like she got beat up. She was holding a rag to her bloody nose while a nurse was bandaging her arm. The girl looked up at me with light green eyes when I went by. I blinked at her and kept walking.

I almost bumped into Jared when he stopped suddenly. He turned to me and held his hand out towards a room, then stuck his hands in his pockets and stepped back to let me go in.

Upon entering the room I had the instant thought that I didn't belong here. Around Tom's bed were what looked like all of his relatives, child or adult. A few were crying quietly and others looked like they were falling apart inside.

I slowly took off my hood. A little boy looked up at me, clutching his mother's hand. His eyes were big and concerned, slowly filling with confused tears. He had no idea what was going on here.

"Rei?" a raspy voice asked.

The crowd around the bed then turned towards me all at once, parting slightly so I could see Tom's figure lying under blankets. He was hooked up to all sorts of machines and an IV drip. He looked flushed and exhausted. He gave me a weak smile, a shadow of his usual one. "Can you come here?"

I nodded. His family members moved from one side of the bed to the other so I could get closer. I could tell that they were uncomfortable because they had no idea who i was and why on earth i was here. I kept my head low and stepped over to Tom's side, unsure of what to do. I had never been in this situation before.

"Why did you want to see me right now? You should be recovering so you can come home. We could have talked then..." I said softly to not sound mean. He was a strong man, but now he just looked fragile, barely able to move.

He kept smiling. Now it was a sad smile, the kind you only do when you know you have to tell someone something you know you don't want to. He took a deep breath and fixed me with his warm, shimmering eyes. "I'm not coming home, Rei."

...Did i hear that correctly? My body seemed to be frozen, rigid. "What did you say?..."

He looked full of a bittersweet sorrow as he moved a shaky hand across the bed to take mine that was hanging at my side. He squeezed slightly. "The doctors said I wouldn't make it through the night. My heart's failing. They can't do a transplant because they have no donors, and I wouldn't survive it."

All the breath was sucked out of me. His words pounded into my brain, engraved there forever. I stood motionless and stared at him, wishing that the deep sadness in his eyes would just disappear and he would have that familiar glimmer of humor instead.

I felt my anger returning, and i tried to suppress it as best as i could. "Why the hell do YOU look so damn sad?"

He gave a sigh of a laugh when a couple of his relatives looked at me in shock. "Because I know I won't be there for you anymore. I really enjoyed your company, I'm glad that you stepped into my life."

Frustration overtook me. "Tom, I'm not a good person. Don't say things like that about me. I don't deserve it."

His hand tightened surprisingly more and he gave me a hard look. "Rei, you are one of the most extraordinary people that i've met. I just know that about you. I know you don't know me very well, and I don't entirely know you, but there's something inside you that no one else has. It makes you special." His eyes softened. He seemed to calm down a bit, speaking more quietly. "I wish i could have had more time to spend with you. But now you're going to have to do it alone. I know you're going to be fine, it's one of those things we old geezers just know."

There were a couple of sad laughs in the room.

"Don't think bad of yourself, Rei," Tom said when it quieted down. "If I liked you, you must not be THAT bad." His hand squeezed mine once more. "I have faith in you. I need you to know that I never regretted my choices with you, and you were an absolute pleasure to have in my house." He paused. This time his smile fully reached into his wrinkles and made his eyes crease at the corners. Genuine. "You're very special, Rei. Don't forget that."

Shakily, he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. He knew that I wasn't able to hug him. I didn't feel that I had a right to, anyway.

When he released me, I backed away hollowly and let the circle of relatives close around him once more. For the rest of the time that I was there, I sat outside the room with my knees pulled up to my chest. I stayed there, rigid, and listened to his crying family as they mourned along with the steady flatline of the machine. I had no right to be in there. It was his family who needed to be there, not some stray he picked up on the street.

I didn't notice the man in front of me trying to get my attention until he bent down to my level. "Hello miss, is your name Rei? I'm Tom's lawyer." He wore a gray suit and had carefully styled hair.

I stared at him for a moment. Then i spoke through my sleeve that was across my mouth. "What do you want?"

He offered a smile in apology. "I need to speak with you about some things. Would you come with me please? It will just take a moment."

I was numb when we went out of the hospital and to his car. He started talking on the way back to the house, about how long he had known Tom and his family. I could only half listen to him. I was starting to feel my anger seeping back into me, and I tried to push it down until I could properly handle it.

We were soon in the livingroom of Tom's house. I was on the couch with my arms folded, and the lawyer sat in a recliner across from me. He began taking things out of his briefcase and setting them on the table between us. "My name is John Wilson. I've been Tom's lawyer for ten years. I know this whole thing must be quite an ordeal for you, so I'll try to make this quick as i can." He took out some reading glasses from his fancy suit pocket and put them on. Next he pulled out a small packet of papers and flipped ahead a couple of pages.

"Just a little while ago, Tom stopped by my office and asked to add some things to his will," the lawyer said. "He hadn't revised his will since the first time i met him. Here is what he added to it.

'_I want my current living place to belong to a dear friend of mine, who i have just met. Her name is Rei. I don't know her last name. I have found her foster care papers and all the information you may need. I also want my truck, and $10,000 out of my savings to go to her. I hope that she will be able to find a job and support herself eventually.'_

When the lawyer was finished reading, he set the papers down on the table as if to let me see them for myself. But i couldn't move.

I thought back to the time when Tom had taken me to town to see his lawyer. He hadn't told me what for. If i had known what he was doing, i never would have let him do it. Why had he...

"The truck will be brought here sometime tomorrow afternoon," the lawyer added. He saw that i had no interest in the papers, so he began putting them away. "I have the deed to the house at my office. Your name will be added to the ownership soon. As well as for the truck." He closed his briefcase and stood. "Is there anything you wanted to ask before I leave?"

Eyes glued to the carpet, I shook my head.

"Okay. If you have any questions or anything, my office is in town. The address is in Tom's address book."

The silence of the house was deafening. It would now be forever empty. Tom would never come back, ask me what I wanted for dinner, or laugh with me at the old cheesy shows he loved to watch.

I hadn't repayed him. And he just gave me everything he had. For _no reason_. Other than he had the illusion that I was a good person in his eyes. That i was _special_.

Why me?...

The rage suddenly white-hot inside me, I bent forward and dug my fingers into the sides of my head in an attempt to alleviate the monster growing stronger inside me. It was never this intense before.

About to explode, I leapt off the couch and ran out the door. I kept going into the dark collecton of trees and other plants that surrounded the area. My breathing got heavier as I went faster, sprinting past the blurry images of trees around me. Their shapes got distorted with my speed and my reddening vision. The urge to just destroy everything around me got too much to handle.

I wasn't sad, or upset.

I was _pissed_.

I slowed to a stop, looking around, then held my head and screamed as loud as my voice would go. My throat burned and the pain brought tears to my eyes. With my scream I was trying to release all the demons swirling around in my head, and all the scorching anger that was threatening to consume me.

My lungs soon gave out. I put a hand to the tree next to me to keep myself from falling over. I breathed deeply, replenishing my oxygen slowly. I wouldn't let myself collapse. That would be too easy.

My body felt rigid again, like a statue, despite the waves of tiredness crashing into me. The absolute loathing inside me was refueling me faster than I could think. Soon I was faced again with the unrelenting fury that was trying to take hold of me, making it seem as though the burst I had earlier had no affect to drain anything.

"Well, what do we have here?"

At hearing the gravelly voice full of malice, I let go of the tree and turned around. About ten feet away was none other than Jeff the Killer. He gave his crazy, heartless laugh, and his cheeks ripped open even more, blood dripping from the corners. His unblinking eyes seemed to glare at me with an intense hate.

"Slendy's not around to save you," he said gleefully. "So this time...I'll make sure that I carve out your heart and deliver it to him _personally_." The kitchen knife in his hand glinted at me. It was almost dawn, and the forest was light with a blue hue to it.

"You really think so?" I stated, cocking my head at him. I couldn't control the excitement rushing through me. I had something to inflict my pain upon. Something to hurt, to make scream until I was content.

Jeff snarled a war cry and moved to run towards me. Calmly, I took my gun from its place and held it towards him. With a deafening sound it fired, and Jeff's leg collapsed from under him. He rolled onto his side, grunting, and i saw the blood leaking from the hole in his thigh. He pressed a hand to it and gave me a glare of heated hatred.

"You bitch! I'm going to tear you apart!"

His arms pushed against the ground as he tried to get himself up. But when he put weight on his leg, he gave a yelp of pain and stumbled.

Not hesitating, I aimed and shot his other leg in the same spot. This time he fell hard. I could hear him yelling profanities and holding his leg to try and stop the bleeding. My feet slowly carried me across the forest floor, leaves crunching under my feet. When he heard me get close, he held out his knife as if to try and cut me from the ground. Swiftly i kicked if from his hand. Then I rolled him onto his back and landed a blow to his side.

"You know what's _funny_, Jeff?" I said, watching as he winced in pain. "The fact that only I can see what a monster i am."

He tried to grab at my boot, and I shot his wrist, making him shriek in anger. "You see, everyone else just thinks I'm a normal little girl who has nothing wrong with her. I'm just complex, that's all."

My boot connected with his face, and I heard his jaw crack. I stepped over him so that my feet were on either side of him, then I pushed my shoes into his arms so they stayed at his sides. He violently flailed underneath me, trying to get up but unable to use his legs. He did get his arms free but I was quick to grab them and keep them from grabbing at me. All while still holding the gun in one hand.

I couldn't help the giggle that escaped my mouth. "I'm not complex! Do you know what it's like to have this...this _demon_ inside of you, that always causes the same feelings that build up and cause you to do horrible things? Just to release the anger?"

Looking at his face, twisted in a feral snarl, I smiled. I crouched down on his stomach. "You probably do. Except I'm not completely like you yet. You have an even greater amount of insanity than i do, don't you?"

Jeff's eyes were completely filled with loathing and rage. "**Get...the fuck...off of me**!"

I landed my fist to his mouth, causing his head to turn abruptly. His breath was coming in short puffs. He was on the brink of hyperventilating from his anger. With his now free hand he landed a punch to my face, but I didn't react to it. I hardly felt the impact.

Standing up, I released his arms, and put one foot against his neck to keep him down while I grabbed his right arm by his wrist. He was trying in vain to pull my boot from his neck when I yanked, dislocating his arm completely. His screech of absolute agony was like a sweet song that could quench the thirst of the monster inside me.

I threw his arm down and got off of him, walking around to the other side. He kept his eyes on me the whole time, trying to drill holes into me. I gave him a wide grin, filled with an unknown, yet sick delight that coursed through me. I was no longer feeling the burning rage or sorrow. All i had was sweet pleasure.

Looking down at his broken form, I felt a bubble of laughter come up through my diaphragm. I couldn't stop it as it burst out of me, errotic and uncontrollable. In the back of my mind I wondered why I was laughing, but at the moment nothing made sense. And I didn't want it to.

"Something's wrong with me..." I said softly, voice still shuddering with the remnants of laughter. Tears had sprung from my eyes and were now cascading down my face. From all my hysterics and god knows what else. "I know that. But..."

I gazed down into Jeff's dark eyes, and his permanent smile. "I can't seem to care."

I attacked him with all my strength, my movements only a blur to me. I could feel when I stomped his chest in and heard sickening cracks, and when I snapped his arm that had up until now been uninjured. He fought back of course, probably injuring me as well, but I wouldn't stop. Couldn't. When i could focus again, I sat on the concave of his stomach, looking at his bruised and bloody face.

"Oh, look at you," I said as if I was pitying him. His struggles had grown less violent, and I could see the energy draining from him along with his blood. "I really made a mess, didn't I?"

It was a great effort for him to simply breathe without his broken ribs stabbing into his lungs further. He swallowed back some blood and glared up at me still. "I'm going to fucking destroy you...And everything you love...will be skinned alive and hung on my wall..."

A sweet, sickly smile spread onto my lips. I gave a single laugh. "I have nothing to love. I never have. Now, Jeffery...I think it's time for you to..." The end of my gun rested against his temple. "Go. To. Sleep..."

The echo of the shot was the only sound in the air, and all i could see was the blood exiting from Jeff's head. When the resonating sound of the gun faded away, I listened to the natural silence of the forest once more. I slowly stood up and looked down at Jeff's mangled body. His wide eyes were blank, his mouth slightly open as blood continued to drip from it. The adrenaline soon seemed to fade from me, as the demons inside receeded back to their dark corners. I felt utterly drained, but my mind was still going at full function. I wiped the wetness from my face with my sleeve.

I felt nothing as I stood there, letting myself get back to normal.

Jeff's body suddenly vanished from under me. I was deeply puzzled for a moment, but then I realized how considerably colder the atmosphere had become. I hadn't been able to feel anything physically until now.

Turning around, I looked into the featureless face that belonged to the wearer of the black suit and tie. He was a few feet away from me. I couldn't read any emotions in the air from him, and honestly I was too tired to try. I was tired of life.

We stared at each other in silence for about a minute. Then my expressionless gaze fell to his feet. I was still holding the gun in my hand, and my other was covered in Jeff's blood.

A loud buzzing filled my ears, and I was pulled into a blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

_"Put me to sleep, evil angel...open your wings, evil angel..."_

Slowly, feeling began to return to me, starting at my fingertips.

_"Fly over me, evil angel...why can't I breathe, evil angel?..."_

Breaking Benjamin? Was the radio on? I tried to move, but my body seemed to be blanketed in numbness. My limbs were made of cement. All i could do was open my eyes and flinch at my dizzyness.

Being knocked out by Slenderman wasn't fun at all.

I was back in my room. Tom's house...no, now it was MY house...anyway. The blankets were pulled up to my stomach. All my things were back on my desk where they belonged, and the pillow was behind my head again. My boots were missing, as was my jacket. As i looked around for them, the radio downstairs suddenly became filled with static, and Angelspit started playing.

Was he...?

To answer my mental question, Slenderman then appeared in front of my desk. He set my boots down in their place and put my hoodie on top of my dresser. When he turned to me, I gave him a questioning look.

"I um...I can't move," I stated. I was glad my voice worked, at least.

Instead of explaining, he went to the side of the bed and put his hand on top of my head. Instantly I felt the cooling effect spreading down my body, waking my nerves up. When he pulled away I was able to sit up and support myself with my elbows. I looked down at my hand, expecting to see dried blood, but there was nothing. It was clean.

"Your things had blood on them as well. I made sure it was gone from every surface," Slenderman explained.

So that's why he had my shoes and jacket. "Where did you put his body? I don't want him coming anywhere near this house."

"He is on the other side of the country."

I breathed out in relief. It might be a bad thing that I wasn't freaking out about what happened. But honestly I didn't care. I didn't regret what i did.

As I looked up at him, Slenderman only returned my gaze. He had been quiet since he found me. Was he worried about something? He couldn't possibly be freaked out by what he saw. He was Slenderman for crying out loud.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No," I automatically replied. Then i wondered why he asked that. That was something I never thought i would hear Slenderman say.

To spite me, my stomach let out a loud growl.

A chuckle came from Slenderman, and i glared at him.

"Shut up."

I tossed the blankets off of me and moved my legs to the side of the bed to stand up. When i did, however, a new wave of dizziness washed over me. As I wobbled, a hand took my own to help me regain my balance. But even with that, it was hard to keep myself from wavering.

"Fucking hell," I muttered as I put my free hand against the wall near the door. "Can't you just teleport us?"

"Not in your condition," he replied. "It would only damage you further."

"Damage? I'm not hurt."

Suddenly I got a burst of black thrown into my vision, and my ears began to ring. I tried to keep my breathing under control as I fought the lightheadedness. It slowly faded to where I could see again, and i felt something new on my side. When i looked down, I saw Slenderman's white hand hooked around my waist.

Well...i had a number of options here. I could slap him away and give him one of my 'looks', which would result in me falling on my face because of the loss of him holding me up. I could also make fun of him and provoke him for it until he either killed me or tortured me. Or I could just ignore it and let him help me to the kitchen.

The first two would at least give me some sort of satisfaction. I think I'll go with the second one. Let's try something new.

As we moved out the door, I kept my free hand against the wall next to me for additional support. "Is there a reason your hand is where it is?"

"You were about to fall." He was doing his usual 'I make sense' answers.

"Is that the only reason?"

The stairs were getting closer. He didn't answer. He was either confused, or he just didn't want to engage in my childish behavior.

We began going down the stairs. He leaned down to my ear and whispered, "Is there a reason you're not moving my hand away from you?"

Well. Slendy knew how to play.

I gave a small smile that felt devilish. Well played. "I prefer not to fall down stairs. It's not a very fun activity."

"Is that the only reason?"

I almost started to laugh when he copied me. But instead I just got off of the last step of the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. On the way over there, I felt his hand slipping from the center of my waist to my hip. That was definately not to keep me balanced.

I knew he was trying to get a reacton from me, but I only pretended not to notice. I had a feeling I was playing a dangerous game here. And I wasn't about to lose.

When we were in the kitchen, he did let go, but not before his cold finger got under the hem of my shirt and traced my hipbone. I fought back a shiver and once again ignored it. I managed to get a bowl of cereal prepared without falling, which was good. I realized that all I had eaten recently was just cereal, and somehow i was okay with it. I liked cereal.

Chewing my mini wheats, I looked at Slenderman from the other side of the island. He was simply standing there unmoving.

Hm. I finally killed someone. Maybe I didn't feel remorse because i killed a killer who had murdered countless others. Or maybe I was just as bad as him myself. I remembered the way I'd felt when i let my anger take over, the way I was still in control when I took out my rage on him. I hadn't cared what the consequenses were. Then again, I never have.

"Are you doing this to me?" I questioned the tall figure in front of me.

"Doing what?"

"Bringing out my inner insanity. Trying to make me into a proxy or something."

He gave a laugh. "If I was making you into a proxy, the experience would be a lot worse than what you did. You are like this naturally. You would make an excellent proxy, yes, but I am doing no such thing to you."

Oh. "Why not?"

"I have plenty of other proxies. I don't need more."

"Is that the only reason?"

A smile was evident in the air. "You're too amusing to make into a feral creature."

"Whatever."

I continued stuffing my face. I soon finished with a big gulp and i placed my bowl in the sink. I noticed that my shirt was still a bit hiked up from when I had been so generously helped to walk by Slenderman, so I straightened it out and made sure it covered everything.

While I washed the dishes, I felt a familiar presence looming over me from behind. I was a bit confused. But then again, he's Slenderman. Nothing about him made very much sense.

I wiped my hands dry with a towel and was about to turn around to ask some witty question but I froze, dropping the towel.

Cold hands slowly snaked their way up through the bottom of my loose shirt. They carefully laid themselves against my bony hips, creating an odd sensation beneath my skin, then grazed up more onto my stomach, past my bellybutton. It was so strange, the way my knees felt like I was about to collapse. Just below my ribcage they halted, if only for a split second, before wrapping around to cover my entire middle almost in an embrace. As i felt him move closer, to pull me into him, suddenly he was gone.

I had stood there for quite a few minutes after that. It had felt as if he was going to hold me against him in an embrace, the way his hands clutched around me so tightly. His arms had felt as if they could wrap themselves twice around me. It wasn't because of my size, but rather his natural limb length.

My knees gave out then, and I grabbed the island behind me, allowing myself to slide to the floor. Weakness was rushing through me, but only in my joints that would normally hold me up. The rest of me was buzzing with some sort of warmth, coming from my stomach, then to the rest of me.

Slenderman...he had almost hugged me. Almost held me to him. What was...happening to him? Was it fake? Why would he do something like that?

Too confused and exhausted to think about it any more, I sighed and rubbed my face. What was I going to do now?


	7. Becoming Lost

Three long weeks passed. During which time Slenderman had not appeared to me again. Not once.

For a few nights I kept myself awake in my room, waiting hopelessly for him to appear, or simply end my life, but none of my wishes were granted. The temperature of the house never changed from its seeming lukewarm air. Then I had taken to staring out every window I came across, hoping to see him within the trees, waiting for anything to move, and again I found nothing.

Had he finally left me alone for good? That was a possibility. I wasn't about to test it so quickly, however. He might just be on a rampage of needing to kill as many as he came across.

I wasn't lonely. I had never been that, I liked being alone most of the time. People were too bothersome to be around. But then again, Slenderman wasn't a person. He acted so differently than them. Thought differently. Just like me.

Eventually I gave up on waiting for him. If he was still around, he would come to me if he wanted to.

I took to keeping the house clean and applying for jobs in town. I used Tom's truck for this, going into town only for job applications and the occasional need for groceries. The lawyer was allowing me access to the money that had been left to me. I was careful when I spent it, only using as little as i could. I wasn't about to splurge on the money that Tom had left for me to survive on.

When I had first driven the truck into town, I could barely make it there without having a mental breakdown. The car's interior smelled like Tom. It smelled like his old leathery jackets and his hair product that he used to keep it in one place when he went to work.

I discovered that he worked in an autoshop near the junkyard. He was a skilled mechanic, the best one there, and he hadn't even gone to school for it. He had worked there for twenty years, since the autoshop opened.

I had been unable to touch the rooms in the house that held Tom's belongings. I should have cleaned them out and put them in storage, or given them to his family, but every time I got near his things I could still hear his warming laughter in my mind, and I had to close the door to all of the rooms besides mine.

Everything of his remained untouched. I still looked at them, often for hours, remembering him doing things with them or setting them somewhere. I didn't do it on purpose, I just kept getting lost in the remnants of what was left of him.

I now laid on the couch in the silent livingroom, surveying all the pictures on the walls. Some were of his family, friends, or coworkers. You could visibly see him aging, gaining more wrinkles, his brown hair fading to white, but somehow the aging never affected his always looked at you with the same youthful kindness, the affection and trust he seemed to have in everyone he met.

There would never be anyone like Tom. Not ever. Even if i somehow were to travel to every inch of the world. The brightness of his soul was something that couldn't be recreated, reborn, or replaced.

I was still in the clothes I had worn the day before. This had been somewhat of a regular schedule for me, wearing the same outfit for days on end. It was something I had been used to ever since I lived on the streets.

Something moved outside the window on the wall across from me. It was a car, pulling into the driveway behind the truck. I sat up on the couch, taking out my gun immediately and going into the kitchen. If someone was going to break in, I wasn't going to stand right in front of the door or window, I would get them before they even noticed my presence.

Holding my gun firmly in my hand, I waited for a crash to come. But none came. It was quiet, until a knock on the door was heard, making me jump. It sounded normal at least.

Slowly I crept from the kitchen to the door, and another knock came, this one more urgent. I carefully looked up into the peephole in the door, closing one eye, looking for the potential robber.

It was an ordinary looking man. He had dark brown hair and searching blue eyes, which were currently trying to find any signs of life inside the house, glancing into windows besides the door. Something about his eyes struck me as odd. They were familiar somehow, though I had never seen this man before.

"Hello? Anyone home?" he called almost nervously, yet hopefully.

He didn't appear to have anything with him. Just a black jacket and jeans, with a gray shirt. He looked to be in his thirties, maybe older.

May as well.

Hiding my gun behind my back, I unlocked the deadbolt and turned the door handle to pull open the door. I held it open with my free hand, ready to close it if needed. He was a little taller than me, and he looked at me with a faint smile, as if I were the answer to a problem in his life.

"Can I help you?" I asked carefully, keeping my eyes ready to catch any sudden movement from him.

His unknown yet familiar eyes brightened. "Is your name Rei?"

My eyes narrowed. "Who's asking?"

The way he spoke was almost enough for me to want to pity him. His voice was shaky and unsure, but he seemed to be determined to do something. It was evident in his eyes. "My name is Jonathan. Jonathan Keys. May I please come inside? I would really like to speak with you."

He seemed to take my earlier answer as a yes. Hm. "I don't know who you are. So i'm afraid not."

He looked downcast. "Oh." After a moment of watching the sadness washing around in his eyes, he regained his searching brightness. "Please tell me your name. I've been looking for Rei for a long time now, and she's really important to me. I was told that someone named Rei lived here..."

I was really confused now. "Why have you been looking for her? Are you some social worker?"

He laughed. "No, no. You see, I'm her father."

…

What?...

"We were separated when she was a baby, because I couldn't take care of her, and when i finally could, I couldn't find her. She had been moved to a lot of other orphanages and they hadn't kept track..."

My body felt cold. The gun fell from my hand, making a small sound when it hit the carpet. Thankfully I could still hold onto the door with my other, suddenly lightheaded, staring at this man in front of me.

"Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?" he asked worriedly.

His eyes...they were so familiar...because they looked exactly like mine. I knew well what mine looked like, and with this man, it was like looking into a mirror like i had done so many times, trying to see into myself.

"I...I'm Rei..." I managed. "Are you really my father?..."

Water suddenly filled his eyes and overflowed, and he made a noise, like a small laugh. He then smiled, a smile of unbearable pain, but love at the same time. "Yes. Yes, Rei, I'm your father."

He moved forward, arms out, to embrace me. Before he could, my instincts had kicked in and I stepped back right at the instant that he lifted his arms. I moved out of his reach, letting go of the door, staring at him still.

Slowly I was regaining myself. I could feel my normal thoughts and emotions returning, and my barriers going up. Jonathan looked hurt and confused, his arms lowering slightly.

"Rei, what's...what's wrong?"

I was met with an almost unbearable pang of agony in my chest. "Why...why did you leave me there?"

It was absolute torture to watch his dark blue eyes, so much like mine, reflect the pain I felt. Tears flowed freely from his, and the rest of his features showed sorrow. "Your mother and I loved you, Rei...from the moment you were born. But things were hard to handle. We didn't have enough money, not enough to support you, and we had nowhere else to go."

As I listened, I felt something come loose inside me, something that shouldn't have. It was almost like the time when Tom died and I had killed Jeff.

"No one would help us," Jonathan sobbed, his face now completely twisted in grief, his form cringing in on itself. "We tried, we tried so hard to keep you...but there was nothing we could do. We had to let you go...make sure you could be taken care of. I'm so sorry Rei...I couldn't be there for you when you needed me..."

"Stop," I said quietly. But he heard me, for he looked up at me in surprise, confusion.

"What?"

"Please stop...just stop crying..."

He nodded after a second, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "I'm sorry...I just can't help it. I've wanted to see you for so long, to hold you..."

I winced at his words, and the clawing monster inside me. I had to end this quickly. "My mom...where is she?"

"She um..." He took a breath as if what he was going to say would make me angry. "She is back at home...we live three hours away from here. She wanted to come, she really did. But she told me that you probably wouldn't want to see her...because of what we did."

Funny. My mother knew me when she hadn't even met me.

"I can call her, and she'll be over as soon a she can, if you want. Or you can come back with me, or-"

"What do you want?..."

Jonathan was taken aback. He looked at me for a moment, thinking he had misheard me. "What...what do I want?"

I nodded. "You came here to see me, now i know who you are, now what do you want from me?"

I might have been really rude at this moment, but I honestly didn't care. I needed this moment to be over, the feelings to go away, and everything to be back to normal. I felt sick.

"I just..." His eyes seemed to wobble. "I want you to come home...and be with your family...I know you turned eighteen, but you are still welcome to come back..."

"This is where i live now. I can't come home with you...not right now."

Jonathan nodded, accepting, some part of him knowing this might happen. He was being very strong, the way he was trying to clean up the emotional mess he just made. "Can we call you? And maybe schedule a time to see you? Please...your mother needs to meet you." He suddenly smiled, looking me over. His voice was choked with more emotion. "You look just like her...You got my eyes, but everything else is hers...my beautiful daughter..."

As his words cut through me, sharper than any knife, I tried to hold onto what little control I had left. The rest of me was slipping into insanity, clawing to escape from here and cause something pain. To get rid of the newfound pain here.

"Here, take my number," Jonathan said, fumbling in his pockets for something. He pulled out a small index card with multiple writings on it. "It has our house phone, and our cell phones." He handed it to me, and I took it, the thing feeling like a deadweight in my fingers. "You can call anytime you want. For anything."

I gave a nod numbly. I had lost the ability to look at him, my eyes instead on his shoes.

"And Rei..." He drifted off into silence. I figured out he was waiting for me to look at him, which I managed to do. He smiled and his eyes burned with a small light. "I love you. With all my heart."

All i could do was nod briskly, taking hold of the door, an apology projected through my eyes. At least I hoped it looked apologetic.

"I'll see you soon," he finished with a small wave of his hand. Then they were stuck into his pockets and he reluctantly began moving from the porch.

I slowly closed the door and watched him go down the steps and to his car. When the door was shut, I looked out the window and waited, as his car turned back on and he drove away.

The air was now completely silent once more. As if nothing had happened. As if I hadn't just met the man who helped create me, to bring me into this world.

My ears were filled with a deafening silence, and I looked around the livingroom, long been void of the life it once had. I couldn't think, couldn't feel as I put my shoes on and left the house.

The crunching sound of leaves and forest debris under my feet was the only thing breaking the silence in the air. It would have brought a calm to me, had i not been falling apart.

I wasn't looking for Slenderman. I knew he wouldn't appear even if i was. I was only trying to get away from the pain that surrounded me like an angry swarm of bees. My body was being hyper-aware again, not letting me ignore all the things that swelled up inside me, threatening to burst out from undeneath my skin.

When the adrenaline began pumping through me rapidly, I knew I had to do something. Breathing heavily, heart pounding audibly, I looked around the trees that towered up into the sky. There was no sunlight. The entire sky was a blanket of dark gray, matching the slight fog that slithered through the forest.

It was always like this, it seemed.

A sharp pang of agony forced a small noise from me. Then the tears began to fall. More choked sounds from me, and I couldn't stop them.

Unrelenting, constantly.

The forest blurred around me because of the pools of water in my eyes, and i tripped, falling onto my hands and knees. I watched the tears drip one after another on the dirt.

I hated **everything**. The world so full of bullshit that we live in. The people, so fragile and worthless, drowning in the hell they created for themselves. What i've become…

Shakily, I stood up again, wavering a bit on my weak limbs. My arms went up across my chest in an x, and I squeezed my shoulders with my hands, as if to hold together the crumbling pieces of me, but still i felt broken. Hollow.

_I can't do it...not anymore…_

And i pictured the release of all the hurt, blown away with a squeeze of the trigger. What was left of me would fly away, into the air, without a care, like a butterfly.

Laughter exploded from me then, loud and unforgiving, sounding psychotic. It continued without my consent, but I didn't care. It really was a funny fucking world we lived in.

_Like a butterfly...a beautiful fucking butterfly…_

One of my hands released my shuddering chest and reached for my gun, tucked away under my shirt. I pulled it out and looked at it through my slightly distorted vision. My finger clicked the safety off.

It felt so heavy in my hand, but was light as I put the end of it to the side of my skull and balanced half the weight on my head. By now I was only snickering, remnants of unstable laughter still having hold of me.

Aas the swirling thoughts in me slowly dissipated, I listened to the silent calm of the forest and closed my eyes. My insanity subsided and I could breathe again.

I exhaled, feeling wetness spill from my closed eyelids, and my arm slipped down from my chest to hand at my side. Finally.

Before my tightened finger could pull the trigger fully, the wind was suddenly sucked from me amd I was flying, the gun lost from my hand.

The ground met my airborne form and I tumbled harshly, rolling in the forest debris. Slowly I came to a halt when I bumped against a tree, sending a shocking pain into me. Pain rippled through my stomach, making me curl inward even as I got on all fours. Something had violently struck my midsection and made me go flying.

One arm clutched against my ribs and the other holding me up, I fell back down into the dirt for a second, but rose again on my shaking arm.

A headache flared in my skull. When a throbbing buzzing, almost a static-y sound filled my ears, my form hunched even more. A deep frustration took over, sinking into my skin and down to my bones.

"Why won't you let me die?!" I shouted, my voice filled with despair. I was then coughing, not yet recovered from the strike I received.

Just when i could breathe again, my wrists were captured by familiar tendrils and I was tossed onto my back, held tightly as if I would try to get away. My arms were held fully extended, in a T formation, and were being pushed into the cold ground to keep me down.

And then he was over me, legs and arms on either side. He was in his hunting form that I had seen only once, all tentacles out and roaming, one traveling up to curl around my throat. Immediately it tightened and I couldn't breathe.

Now the headache became a migrane, with a white-hot pain, making me flinch. My body writhed a bit, not because I wanted to escape but because it was an involuntary action.

An evil smile eminated from him. His voice was velvety, pouring like honey into my ears. "I told you already, Rei. You will die by my hand, and my hand only. You belong to **me**."

With that, spots danced in my vision, distorting the image of his white face above mine. Was he finally going to do it? I resisted the urge to struggle as my body wanted to panic. Instead I relaxed as best as i could. Though he wasn't making it easy for me.

Sweet release...finally.

Through my fading vision I gazed at him and the tendrils moving like snakes behind him. Even now, as he killed me in his monstrous form, he was beautiful. He always seemed to be perfect, flawless in every action and word. He was made that way.

This was why he was so dangerous. And i knew it, but I never feared it. As a result, he created no resentment in me, but almost an admiration. Though i would never admit it.

Feeling blissfully numb, inside and out, my lips curled into a last smile at him, this evil angel come to save me from my suffering. Blackness swallowed me.

…

Cooling air was forced into my lungs. Before I could form a thought, another burst of air rushed into my body, as if someone was breathing into me. Immediately then I could see again, just in time to see Slenderman's white face pull away from mine. Deeply I inhaled like a fish, air tasting like the greatest thing ever.

Coughing, I rolled onto my side, realizing that his black tendrils were gone, as was the pounding in my skull. When my fit was over I simply breathed, slowly calming my body.

Back to square one.

When I had moved onto my side my arms had come up to my chest, as I had curled in on myself slightly. One of my hands was gripped and taken away from me, placing it away from my body in its former spot.

I was on my back again, staring up at the porcelain-colored being on top of me. His hands were bigger when he was in this form. My hand was pressed flat against his, all of his smooth hand covering mine.

I was extremely weak. I could barely move, the most I was doing was my lungs exanding and contracting. His body was switching back to its normal state. I watched and listened to his limbs reforming themselves, once again awed by him. This beautiful creature.

Why did he stop?...just a couple seconds more and I would have been gone. Forever. Why?...

Before I could attempt to speak, he stared down at me, gave a deep sigh, and laid his forehead against mine.

If I hadn't been so drained of my energy I would have been overwhelmed by his unnatural pull. Yet it was also natural at the same time. But it was only dull now as I kept breathing deeply, trying to figure out what was going through his mind. He didn't seem to be trying to torture me. Though I couldn't read any emotions coming from him in my condition. His sigh had sounded almost...resigned.

His now smaller hand moved slightly, and his cool fingers slipped between mine only a little, his palm still laying flat on mine. For a while neither of us spoke, him because of an unknown reason and me not being able to. Not like I had any idea of what to say if I could talk.

His hand suddenly tightened on mine. A spark of anger was evident. He hissed lowly, "Do you not see what I am? And you look at me with such...adoration. You were supposed to hate me, to be repulsed and afraid. You _smiled _at me...with eyes so full of brightness..._why_? What do you see in me?"

I couldn't answer him. Both because of my weakness and because I couldn't explain it to him. There was no way to put it into words.

He gave another sigh. It sounded so melodious, even with its meloncholy tone. "I thought that if i ignored you and didn't come near you, that you would realize what I was and you would loathe me as you do everyone else. And then I could kill you, watch the furious light fade from you…" His head lifted from mine, and he now looked down at me from a space away. A single black tendril slithered up and wrapped itself around my waist. "And that I could rid myself of the addiction i had to you. But even now, after the time spent away from your presence, I still can't kill you…"

My eyes shifted away from his face. Instead I looked at his black suit, his tie, and the white shirt underneath. His long arms and graceful legs that held his form above mine and entrapped me. Even with the limb around my midsection I could still breathe fully. It wasn't trying to restrict me, to my surprise, it was almost as if it was there to hold me. Almost like an embrace.

I managed to turn my head to the side. I saw his flawless hand over mind, and I tested the movement in my fingers, curling them where they lay between his. I wanted to squeeze him. I wanted to do a lot of things, such as pull him to me, or have him simply lay there next to me and wrap his elegant arms around me.

But I knew that I couldn't. He couldn't. I didn't have the strength to ask, or be brave enough to.

Just before he teleported us, I felt a whisper of a kiss from cold lips on my cheekbone.


	8. Almost Normal

I had scheduled to go to my parents' house in a few days. They lived three hours away from my current location. Jonathan had offered to meet me halfway, but I had more money and it wasn't any trouble for me. Besides, i wanted to see their house. I was curious about how they lived.

Currently I sat on the couch in my livingroom with my legs folded, a bowl of cheerios in my hands. HA! I lied. They're frosted mini wheats. I could never betray them. The things are damn delicious.

The tv screen started wavering. It then went fuzzy, the static loud and annoying.

Shoveling another spoonful into my mouth, I felt a presence behind me, and I turned the tv off. With a swallow I looked up and tilted my head back to see the familiar white face staring down at me from his tall height. I blinked, then faced forward normally again. "How about you come sit down instead of being all...Slender-y?"

When I placed another spoonful of cereal into my mouth, I heard the slightest of shuffling. To my surprise he actually went around and sat on the other side of the couch. Even at his normal 6-8 foot height, he looked almost too big for the couch. At first he sat normally, with his legs slightly apart and his hands folded in his lap.

To lessen the awkwardness I ate the last bit of my cereal and set the bowl down, then turned so that i faced him and sat with my back against the end of the couch. I kept my legs folded halfway under me.

"Is there something you wanted?..." I asked casually. He never came here apparently for no reason. At least in my experience he hadn't.

He gave a small laugh. "Isn't that a loaded question. I was curious as to why you...came into the forest that day."

He was referring to a few days ago when i had met my father and run off into the woods shortly after, then proceeded to put a gun to my head. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "I was having another episode. Nothing new."

"Something was different...you never wanted to use your gun. What had made you forget your previous decision?"

Goddammit. I couldn't believe I was going to talk about the problems in my life. I couldn't remember the last time I had done something like that. Oh well.

I fiddled with my sock. "My um...father came here."

"Why was this upsetting?"

How the hell was i supposed to explain this? "I never knew my parents when I was growing up. They had left me at an orphanage when i was a baby and never came back, until now."

He seemed to take a second to process it. "What did you speak about?"

This time I could glance up at him, and he had switched his position so that he was facing me, one foot on the couch, his leg bent and leaning against the back cushions. On the floor was his other leg. His hands stayed in his lap.

I shook off a sudden attraction to how he looked with a shake of my head. "Um… he apologized for not being there for me and stuff like that...he gave me his number and asked me to visit sometime. I'm going to their house in a few days to meet my mom there."

"Your mother was not with him when he came here?"

"No…" I folded my arms across my ribs. I felt better like this. "She thought I wouldn't want to see her. She wanted to wait for me to decide whether i wanted to be in contact with them or not."

A pause. "She seems...understanding of you. And you had not met before?"

My eyes fixated on his black tie. It wasn't easy talking about everyday things with him. Or anyone for that matter. "Not at all. It's kind of funny how she already knows me and expects how i'll act."

"Yes."

Now i looked up at him, motionless as he gazed at me. It was very strange, having him sit here with me on the couch, talking about things so normally. But at the same time I wasn't bothered in the least. I never wanted to be normal anyway.

"Why are you staring at me?"

His smooth voice interrupted my thoughts and brought me back to reality. I re-fixated on his face and gave him a look. "_You_ stare at _me._"

"I have my reasons. Why do you do it?"

What kind of reply was that? He has a reason? "I was just getting lost in my thoughts. You have reasons? Other than being Slenderman i mean?"

He gave a small nod. "Yes."

"Like what?"

"I find you...interesting to watch."

Hm. Coming from anyone else that would have sounded creepy. But he didn't intend to be that way. It was just how he spoke. "Explain more."

"There is nothing more to explain."

I rolled my eyes. "I mean use more words to help me understand what you mean."

An invisible smile came from him. "What i mean is that I somewhat 'enjoy your company', as you would put it. I also happen to find you amusing, which you already know of course."

"Mm."

"I also...happen to like your eyes."

This made me deeply confused. My eyebrows furrowed at him. "Why?"

"Every expression you have seems to highlight them. I like the colors." He seemed to enjoy my puzzlement.

"Oh. "

I always thought that I looked average. Nothing special. My eyes were just things I used to scare people, by staring or glaring at them continuously. I had been known in school for my unbreaking gaze that I would throw at people who unfortunately annoyed me. Sometimes I did it just to freak them out.

"Is it bad that I'm sitting here on a couch with a faceless creature who kills people, and we're having a normal conversation?" I suddenly asked, having one of my moments of realizing things happening around me.

"Yes," Slenderman replied bluntly. "But I don't think that either of us care, correct?"

I laughed a bit at myself. "I guess not."

* * *

"So why do you kill children? And why are their bodies never found?"

I was in the middle of having a worry-free talk about random stuff. It had been nearly three hours of us talking like this. Anyone else probably wouldn't have asked such things that i had. I didn't really have shyness that others did.

"I consume their souls. After that their body shrivels up into something no bigger than my hand, depending on how big the child was. I bury their remains deep in the forest and they decompose quickly so that even if someone were to come looking for them, they wouldn't find anything."

Wow. "Why souls?"

"They are the source of life. It is my version of food, as yours seems to frequently be that cereal you are so fond of."

"Ah. I see." It was interesting for me, learning about a creature such as him. It was like gaining information on a mythical creature, except he was actually real. But I always knew that not all myths were fake.

When I gave a yawn, my eyes watered and i blinked it away. What time was it? I glanced at the clock on the wall. 12:06.

"What are...all of your abilities? Powers?" I asked when I refocused on Slenderman.

He seemed to consider this before answering. "I can do things that you would think impossible. Alterations of the mind, things like that. I can distort your memories and how you see things. If i do it too much, your brain can shut down because of the strain. Teleportation, small distances, and the ability to stretch to numerous sizes and shapes."

Most of that I already knew. His presence can disrupt technology and the senses, depending on how he fluctuated his magnetic pulse in the air.

"I believe that it is my turn to ask you questions," he stated.

I chuckled. "I never said i agreed to that."

"It's fair. Not that fairness matters in this world, but even so. Are you ready?"

I waved my hand around in the air to signal him to go on.

"What are YOUR abilities? Or...advantages?"

Hm. I had to think for a moment. I wouldn't call myself good at anything, but there were some things that had come in handy for me. "I can run fairly well, i guess. I can shoot a gun...shoplifting was always easy for me too. Um...I have episodes where i go crazy and occasionaly become homicidal or suicidal."

"You are forgetting a few things."

I looked up at him, questioning. "Like what?"

He straightened out the leg that was on the couch, and it went a little past me, but not in contact with my skin. I watched it for a second, then straightened out both of my legs in front of me. They were about a foot away from his lap, and I waited for a reaction but got none.

He continued with his reply. "You can observe people quite well. I see how you watch them carefully, almost as if you're looking into their minds to see if they have something inside them that is worth anything."

I shrug. "I just know how to see the bullshit in people. And when they are faking, or what's causing them to act the way they are. It's nothing special."

"No other human I have seen has looked at me the way you do. You're smarter than them, you see things that they don't notice."

I snorted and shook my head. "Now you're just trying to flatter me. Ask another question."

He appeared deflated, but let it go. He really was strange. But it didn't bother me. It felt weird to admit it, but i actually..._enjoyed_ his company. He was so unlike humans, and it was one of the things I appreciated most about him. It made him easy to talk to.

"What are things that make you...happy?"

He seemed almost hesitant when he said the word happy, as if it were a foreign concept. It kind of was.

I tugged my shorts down a bit to straighten them out. "Heh. Happy. I haven't heard that word in a while. It's not something that really gets along with me." I thought for a second. "Well, frosted mini wheats make me pretty content. I like it when I scare people and they get mad, because for that one second, they weren't in control of anything. I like disrupting their dilusional reality of false security. I can't really think of things that make me _happy_...it's not something that comes easy to me."

My eyes fixed on his face, intently observing me. I tried to speak carefully. "I enjoy spending time with you, to a degree. For example when we're talking like this. It feels...nice to me."

He nodded, and the air felt lighter. Almost warmer. "I feel the same way."

Another yawn suddenly overtook me. What was i becoming? I used to be able to stay up for a few days straight without any sleep. This was pathetic. Although, I had been a bit more stressed lately because of having to see my parents soon.

"Why are you going to see them? I would have thought that you would resent them," Slenderman said.

I narrowed my eyes. He better not be able to read my mind. "I'm curious. I want to see what they're like. My mother sounds a lot like me, to be honest. I just hope she's not as crazy as i am."

"How do you feel about...what they did to you?"

Now that was an amusing question. "I don't think that they're stupid, if that's what you're asking. I do understand why they did it. Really the ones who are at fault here are the social workers and orphanages for losing track of me."

Tiredness washed over me. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I sighed deeply, and every breath felt like it was draining me of my energy. "A part of me wishes that I hadn't been torn from them. Maybe I wouldn't have turned out this way. Suffered the way that i did…" Now i was rambling. I shook my head, and my eyes fell closed. I felt so exhausted.

As soon as they did, I felt something go around my midsection and under my knees, and I was lifted up. They weren't hands. I forced my eyes open to see the black tendrils place me in Slenderman's lap, my back against his long chest. When they uncurled from me I spoke.

"What are you doing?"

His arms slid under my T-shirt to wrap around my stomach. The skin on skin contact made me tense up a little, but not because I didn't like it. It gave me a tingling, warm sensation.

"Just go to sleep," he responded, sounding as tired as i did.

I gave a cough of a laugh as his voice made my back vibrate slightly with his chest. "You expect me to sleep under these conditions?"

He gave a half-hearted sigh as a reply.

Sighing myself, I moved a bit to attempt and relax. After scooting back more closely to him, I finally stopped moving. He felt cool, but not overly so. It was soothing.

"Comfortable?" he murmured in amusement, his head still above mine because of his size.

I ignored the sweet purring in his voice and closed my eyes. "Shut up."

A soft chuckle came from him, sounding heavenly to my ears.

My head rested back against him. I seemed to fit perfectly in the space he had placed me in. He honestly felt more comfortable than any bed or pillow, i realized as my body began to relax once more.

Part of me was, of course, not exactly okay with this. I wasn't used to it. At all. I considered trying to get up, or explain to him that i couldn't do this, but no bad feelings came to me like I expected them to. Like anguish, or hurt. Usually they consumed me by now.

I only felt an interesting warmth. A certain contentment, you could say. I also wasn't used to this at all, but I honestly didn't want to fight it anymore. Not like I could anyway. So i decided to try and accept it for once, just let it happen and experience something different. It was such a change from my usual status.

He felt so...perfect. Every part of him was so beautiful and graceful. Nothing human could ever be like this. Be like him.

There I fell asleep, wrapped in the arms that belonged to such a beautiful creature.

* * *

Hey guys, I'm sorry if this one is a little short compared to my other chapters. But I did what I could today. I hope you like it. Leave a review if you can, I would like to hear about how I'm doing :3 or suggestions if you have any, that would be awesome.


	9. A Sort of Sickness

Upon drifting awake, I knew I was alone once more. Instead of soft arms around me was a blanket, a fluffy one taken from my room. As i became more awake I opened my eyes and looked around the now light room. Sunlight blinded me with its stupid bright rays and I flinched, looking to the clock on the wall instead. I had slept for ten hours.

Not bad.

I moved the blanket off of me and got up, stretching. Slenderman was probably doing his usual, which meant that I would be alone for most of the day. I needed to find something to do.

A high-pitched beep made me jump. The answering machine started playing a message then, one probably left while I was sleeping. I went over to it while it played the recorded message to I could hear it better.

_"...this is Marie, I'm Tom's daughter. I was hoping to ask you a favor. I know Tom's things are at the house still, and I wanted to ask if you could maybe pack them up and bring them to me, I'm staying at the hotel here in town, the one by the post office. Today or tomorrow would be the best, if you could. I can't bring myself to go there...I would if I could…"_

Her voice became shaky. She was crying.

_"Call me back if you need to, I'll be at the hotel most of the time. Thank you."_

The message ended. Well, there was my thing to do today.

* * *

Humming along to the song playing on the radio, I opened the first door to the house that held Tom's things. I had taken a shower and eaten breakfast, and my hair was pulled back into a ponytail, my bangs still down and framing my face.

This room was simply packed with numerous sizes of boxes. Some were open others sealed shut. I decided not to open the ones that were shut. I didn't even want to be touching his things, I felt I had no right to. But his daughter had asked me to. So I took a roll of packing tape from the kitchen and began closing the open boxes.

I had unfortunately peeked into one that I discovered was full of family photos. I felt my throat closing up, and I sealed the box before any further grief could grip me. This would be a long day.

_"Here I stand, helpless and left for dead…"_ I sang along quietly with the song Dance With The Devil by Breaking Benjamin. I slid a box over to where I sat on the floor and put tape along it, trying not to look at its contents.

_"Say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight, don't you dare look at him in the eye, as we dance with the devil toniiiight…"_

Closing the last box, I shoved it away from me so that it was with the others. Standing and leaving the room, it felt like I was being torn apart piece by piece by the guilt and sadness that was clawing at me.

But it was nothing new.

I had been so used to the pain that it felt almost normal to me, as one would normally breathe. It bothered me sometimes, when it was more intense, but there was nothing i could really do about it. Sometimes I didn't want to stop it.

On to the next room. This one had all of his things strewn about, laying on the floor or on a desk, some empty boxes in a corner, as if he had wanted to pack them but hadn't found the time.

Mostly the things were just pieces of unused furniture or decoration. Christmas things, fireworks, candles or flower vases. I carefully organized each item into boxes so that all the breakables were in one, and the rest were categorized based on their holiday.

Upon searching through a crate of wrapping paper and gift bags, I found a box that had already been wrapped. I found a small card attatched to it. It said _'to: Marie. My beautiful daughter'_

It was October. Tom had done this very early. Did he know that he was going to die? Can people feel it when their body is slowly getting weaker by the day?

Taking a deep breath, I put the gift into a box of bubble wrap and bows. Hopefully it would be safe until it got to Marie.

I tried to keep myself in a numb autopilot mode throughout the day. If I didn't, I might not have been able to pack his things. This was one of the more difficult tasks that I'd had to do in my life.

It was sunset by the time I was loading the boxes into the truck. I put as many in as I could, even putting some into the passenger seat. I would definitely need to make a second trip. Thankfully Tom didn't have a garage to keep any more junk in, he only had a small shed behind the house that held a few of his tools.

Pushing a large box out the front door, I realized that I might have over packed this one. I could barely get it off the porch. When I shoved it closer to the truck, I tried to lift it, but I could only lift one side of it up. How was I going to do this?

While I turned back to the house and wiped my forehead, trying to think of what to do, I heard movement behind me. I turned to see a black tentacle go around the box and lift it into the truck as if it was weightless.

Slightly impressed despite myself, I looked up at the tall figure in his black suit. It was strange to think about how he had become so familiar to me, his presence bringing a certain calm to me.

"How was your day?" I asked, pretending that I was completely normal and not talking to a supernatural being, picking up some rope from the ground and going around to tie everything down.

"How it usually is," his smooth voice responded, not really explaining much. But I knew he wouldn't tell me all about his daily activities of killing people unless I specifically asked, which I had no intention to.

"What are you doing?" he queried. His white face followed my movement around the vehicle.

With a yank to tighten the ropes, I began tying them. "Tom's daughter wanted me to pack Tom's things and bring them to her. So that's what I'm doing. But I'm going to have to make a second trip tomorrow. I couldn't get everything packed today."

"I see."

And he was silent again. But then, he was naturally quiet. Like me. I was the kind of person who could sit with you for hours and not speak, but be comfortable with it. Sometimes you didn't need to speak. Silence was relaxing. It allowed you to simply think about things and not have to constantly be doing something.

"Your hair is...different," he randomly stated when I went to lock the front door.

I turned back to give him a weird look. It made me giggle a bit at how childish he sounded sometimes. "Yes? I put it up so it wouldn't get in the way."

I jumped off the porch and went over to the driver's side of the truck. He followed, standing in front of me and of course, making me crane my neck up to look at him.

"What?" I asked.

He stared at me, for a long time it seemed, unmoving. I didn't notice the black tendril that crept up behind me and reached up. It closed around my ponytail and yanked it, making me jerk my head back slightly.

"I like it," Slenderman said in amusement at my glare. His tendril then rested on my shoulder and curled up to touch my face, and I slapped it away.

"Of course you do," I replied with a scowl. Turning from him, I opened the door to the truck and got into the seat. "I'll be back later." I pulled the door closed, still keeping eye contact with him to watch for any more movement. But he only stood still, simply gazing at me with his blank face.

Putting the truck into drive, I put my foot on the gas and began to drive out of the long driveway. I glanced in the rear view mirror to see Slenderman still standing there, watching me go out onto the road. He disappeared right before the trees obscured my view of him.

It really was an interesting relationship we had. If that's what you would call it.

* * *

When I drove into the hotel's parking lot, I saw a woman standing outside one of the rooms with a cigarette in her hand. She looked about 30, maybe more. She saw the truck and waved at me. Her piercing blue eyes met mine as I parked the car in front of her and turned it off, carefully getting out. There was a U-haul next to us.

"You must be Rei," she said, holding out a hand for me to shake. "I'm Marie. It's nice to meet you."

I gave a nod. Her eyes were rimmed in a soft red. You only get it that bad when you've been crying every second of the day, and I knew the cause of it.

"I couldn't get everything. So I'll probably be back tomorrow with another load, if thats okay with you," I explained. I went over to untie the ropes that held the boxes down.

"Mommy, Bobby won't let me watch the tv!" a little girl whined, coming out of the hotel room and going to clutch at Marie's pants. She looked about 8. She had dark blonde hair like her mother, and it was pulled into pigtails, messy as they were. However she had green eyes as she looked over at me with wide eyes. She wore a pink nightgown with frills on the edges.

"Who's that?" she asked, tugging on Marie's pants more.

"She's a friend, sweetie," Marie told her, taking her small hand and leading her back into the room. Marie threw a glance back at me. "I'll be back in a second."

"Okay." The little girl stared at me until she disappeared into the dark hotel room, where sounds from a cartoon show could be heard.

I tossed the ropes into the driver's seat. I then began to unload the boxes onto the ground, stacking them on top of each other, creating two stacks before Marie came out again. She ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh when she came over to help me lift a box out.

"Little ones can be so tiring," she said, chuckling a bit despite the cloudy sadness in her eyes. "I really appreciate you bringing his things over here. I wouldn't have been able to do it, though i wanted to."

"It's no problem. Most of his things were already in boxes anyway, so that made it a lot easier." With a grunt I heaved the last of the boxes out of the truck.

Marie went over to the U-haul and unlocked it, opening the back so we could load them into it.

"Tom told me about you," she stated. "About how you met and everything. He said you were such a nice girl."

I had to fight back a snort. I needed to be polite, at least. I didn't need to make her hate me. "Did he?"

I handed her a box which she took into the U-haul. When she came back out she nodded at me. "He was always such a kind person. I was so proud of him, he was always trying to help those less fortunate than him. Every homeless person we would see, he would give them money and food, whatever he could offer them. He said they deserved second chances."

I didn't respond. I knew that I didn't deserve a second chance, but Tom had given me one anyway. And more. I had a place to stay, money to keep me afloat, and a working car. I had never had this much before. I didn't deserve it, just like I don't deserve it now.

But i wasn't about to tell Marie that. What made it worse was that I felt bad about having these things from Tom, but I didn't do anything about it. I kept them instead of giving them to his family or something. Maybe I was selfish. It wasn't because I would feel bad for giving away Tom's last gift to me, but because I felt like keeping it. I wasn't completely sure why.

Again, maybe I'm just selfish.

Marie shut the door to the U-haul when we were finished. With a deep breath she turned to me, hands in her back pockets. "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Same time?" I responded.

"Sure. Goodnight, Rei."

"Night."

I got into the truck as Marie walked tiredly to the open hotel door. Her daughter's little face poked out of it, focusing on me with her wide, innocent eyes. When I started the car she stepped outside slightly, waving her hand at me.

"'Bye, Rei!"

I gave a small wave back to her. Then I pulled out of the parking lot, seeing her mother gently pull her inside and close the door behind her.

My hands gripped the steering wheel while I pulled back onto the road that would take me back home. It was now dark, white specks dotting across the black sky. I focused on the headlights illuminating the road in front of me.

Marie even had Tom's smile. You could tell from a first glance that they were related to each other. I felt like I didn't want to look at her, but I had to anyway, forcing myself to. The pain in my chest wasn't something that I wasn't used to. I told myself to deal with it and just get it over with.

Inhaling deeply, I realized that something felt...off. My heart was speeding up a little, as if I was working out. What was…

Pulling the car over and to a stop, I managed to jump out and run to the other side of the car to vomit into the dirt beside it. After emptying my stomach's contents, I clutched my midsection, my other hand holding onto the truck for support.

My throat was stinging painfully from the bile. I swallowed another bout of nausea down, fighting the sudden shakiness in my limbs.

Going through Tom's things today had made me feel sick. Mentally, of course. Maybe it somehow became physical that had happened to me before.

I leaned back against the truck for a couple minutes to make sure it was over. I then climbed back into the driver's seat and took the car back onto the road again. But this time my hands were shaking visibly, and I could feel the weakness in my muscles, fighting to work. It felt like I had food poisoning or something.

Wonderful. I did somehow get myself back to the house, swearing under my breath at my weak body. Turning the car off and yanking the keys out of the ignition, I opened the door and stepped out, only for my knees to give out under me and send me to the ground. Growling, I pulled my face from the dead leaves and reached up to grab something on the car to help me up.

My hand found the door handle and I pulled myself upright again. However now my vision had black specks in it, and my ears were ringing slightly, causing me to become unbalanced. I sighed and stood still in an attempt to make it go away.

"Rei?"

I looked to my side to see the familiar figure in his suit, his white face seeming to peer down at me. His voice was held its usual lull of softness, but also almost a concern as well.

"Yes?" I snapped. It was a bit hard to glare at him in my condition, I'll admit. But I was annoyed that I was feeling like shit.

"You seem unsteady."

I stood a bit straighter and shoved the car keys in my pocket. My legs were shaking, of course. I wasn't completely sure I could walk very well. "I'm sick. I threw up on the way here."

"Sick?" He was now confused, walking a bit closer to me, not making a sound.

"Yeah. It was something I ate. Food poisoning or something. This is just fantastic." I put one foot out and took a step. So far so good. However the second step I took made me wobble a bit, and I held my arms out, hoping to keep myself balanced.

Slenderman's hand took mine gently, moving so lightly that I would have thought it was just the air if I didn't grip him tightly with my fingers. Honestly I had no intention of falling, so I would take what help I could get.

We crossed the lawn slowly, me growing more annoyed with each unsteady step I took. But he only followed next to me, seemingly not bothered at all. I bet he could feel my irritation though, seeping out through my skin.

"Why are you angry?" he asked after a bit.

I was right. "I hate feeling like this. I don't like not being able to move as well as i usually do."

The porch proved to be a challenge, as if it were some sort of Olympic competition instead of something usually so easily overcome. Eventually we did make it inside, where I then collapsed onto the couch. Slenderman stood by me as I struggled to take off my boots and drop them onto the floor.

"You don't want to sleep in your bed?" he questioned. He seemed to have a lot of questions tonight.

I gave a short laugh. "Of course I do, but I wouldn't be able to make it up the stairs. I guess I'll just sleep here tonight. It's no big deal."

I laid back against the end of the couch, flinching when the room spun.

I'd had chicken for lunch. I guess I hadn't cooked it thoroughly enough. Maybe I need to stick to easier meals, like top ramen and cereal. Yeah, that sounds nice. Unhealthy, yes, but I didn't care.

I was ripped from my thoughts by two arms suddenly sliding underneath me and lifting me from the couch, then holding me to a cold chest. I looked up at Slenderman in surprise, who was gracefully moving towards the stairs across the livingroom. It felt as if he wasn't even stepping on the ground.

His hands, one under my knees and the other under my back, were cooling my heated skin slowly, bringing a soothing feeling into my limbs.

"I didn't consent to this," I told him, folding my arms and trying to give him a look. But i couldn't hold it very well as he glanced down at me.

"And?"

His tone said, '_And, you think you could stop me even if you said no?'_

We began moving up the stairs. I felt a cooling sensation spreading through me, his powers seeping into my skin and healing my shaky body. I couldn't stop myself from staring up at him. I had only seen him up close like this a few times, and each time left me mesmerized despite myself.

I looked from his shirt and tie to his white neck, and then his face. I could see the small bump that passed for what would be a nose. The indents that were in the absence of his eyes, the ones that seemed to stare into my soul even with no eyes.

As I kept gazing up at all his features, I became lost in my blank thoughts of nothingness. I couldn't really think about anything. My mind felt a certain contentment with simply looking at him like this, at his unnatural appearance that had become so natural to me.

I should have felt weird staring at him like this, but I couldn't seem to find the will to care. He was something that was beautiful to look at, however evil and inhuman he may be.

And somehow I had managed to attract the attention of this creature, whos nature was to kill all humans he came across. But he hadn't killed me. He had defied everything that he was. Part of me thought that it might have been all an act, so that he could destroy me from the inside out and then take my life, creating an even bigger amount of confusion and despair in his prey.

But then, part of me didn't care. I was built to enjoy things while they lasted. They might not be there when you blink and open your eyes again.

I came back to reality when he laid me onto my bed. His voice sounded soft when he spoke, as if he was trying to lull me to sleep. And I realized with a bit of annoyance that it was working.

"Why are you staring at me like that?..."

He pulled up the blankets and I took them from him, pulling them over me. "You should know the answer by now."

"Should I now?"

I nodded at him and fought my heavy eyelids. He stood straighter, letting me see all of him, and of course admire every part.

He chuckled a bit as he saw my effort to keep fighting sleep. I only reached up behind my head to pull the hair tie out, letting my hair loose once more.

Slenderman then vanished, and all the lights went out, dropping me into darkness. I blinked to help my eyes adjust. Yawning, I rubbed at my face with my hand. Only then I saw a white hand come through the darkness and land on my forehead. A cooling sensation filled my head, and I drifted into the depths of unconsciousness.

* * *

Hello people :3 Thank you so much for the reviews, they make me feel all fuzzy inside . Seriously, every time I see I have a new one, I'm like "OMG HOLY SH*T I HAVE TO READ IT!" and then I smile like an idiot staring at my computer screen xD So i hope you enjoy this chapter, I have lots more for the future, and I can't wait to write it all :3


	10. Drowning In You

With a shudder my stomach was emptied of its contents for the second time this morning. Coughing, I reached up to flush the toilet and get rid of what remained of my food from the other day. I gave another shudder when I swallowed the thick bile that had gathered at the back of my throat.

This morning was not going so well.

I had first gotten up at 4:00 a.m. to, of course, vomit, and it was now only 5:37. I don't think I'll be sleeping any more. Well, I have things to do anyway. I closed the toilet lid, grabbing the counter above me to help me get back up. But my legs were shaking, as was the rest of me, so it took longer than it should have been to start rising from the floor.

When I was halfway up, I jumped reflexatively as a cold hand slid under my shirt to rest against the center of my stomach. I looked up into the mirror to see Slenderman standing behind me.

His hand brought the familiar healing sensation into my skin, and it also pressed into me slightly, helping to pull me upright again.

"Where were you the first time I violently threw up?" I half-growled, not entirely serious. I just wanted to be snappy.

"Hunting," he replied. Though I already knew the answer, so he did it just to be obvious.

Putting both hands on the counter to steady myself, I breathed deeply. My reflection looked completely hellish. Tangled black hair fell into my face, sticking out in places, and I looked pale, more so than usual. Because of my lack of sleep I also had bruises under my puffy eyes. Absently I blinked, feeling the tiredness in my eyes.

"Mmm," I groaned, rubbing my forehead. I felt loathingly pathetic. Even with the soothing coolness that was calming my aching stomach.

His hand left me after a minute or so. I sighed with relief when I no longer felt and pain in my internal areas.

When I stumbled around him to leave, he turned and followed me. "Where are you going?"

"To pack the rest of Tom's things. I told his daughter that I would finish with the rest of it today," I replied. I gripped the railing to the stairs with both hands and took one wobbly step. This was just awesome. I almost wanted to tell Slenderman to knock me out just so I could be out of my misery for a little bit.

I heard a sigh, and a black tendril wrapped around me, allowing me to walk without having to worry about trying to keep myself balanced. Slowly I released the railing, but still kept my hands out slightly just in case.

I stole a glance at him beside me. "Why are you helping me?"

"It was pitiful to watch you otherwise," he said with a hint of a playful condescending tone.

"Shut up." I would have tried to shove him, but I knew I wouldn't have been able to move him, even if I wasn't weak at the moment. Besides, I had no intention of making him let go so that I could fall on my face.

Well. What had happened to me? I had become a passive little thing. Maybe I should work on that.

Upon entering the livingroom, I saw a sight that made me stop abruptly. Through the window on the other side of the room I could see the truck, right where I left it, but stacked in the back of it was the rest of the boxes for my last load today. Tied down and everything.

His tentacle left me as I faced him, utterly confused. "But...what...did you do that?"

A nod. I glanced around the room to find it empty of all the other boxes that I had brought down the other day to be taken away. They were all gone, put into the truck and ready to go.

I looked up at him, suspicious. This was not something that was normal, even though everything about him was abnormal. You know what I mean. "Okay, I know you weren't being nice. What's the alterior motive for doing this?"

He paused before answering. "I was hoping to have you to myself today. It wouldn't be possible if you still had duties to perform."

"...Oh." That was all I could manage to say. I wasn't really sure about how to respond to this. I shifted on my feet. "Well...what do you want to do?"

"Whatever you wish."

Hm. Whatever I want, huh? "So, if I wanted to go into the forest and have you run around with me riding piggyback, you'd do it?" Internally I was in a fit of gut-busting laughter. But on the outside I allowed a grin to spread across my face. I couldn't help it.

He seemed mildly confused. "You're in no condition for exhilaration and...piggyback riding." He shook his head at our human phrases. "I was more expecting another simple talk of ours."

"Pfft. You're no fun." I went around him, wobbling haphazardly, into the kitchen and got a coffee mug from the cupboard. Some tea would definitely do me some good. I wasn't about to even attempt to eat anything solid yet, my stomach gave an unpleasant turn at the thought.

After I made my tea, I blew gently on the top of it to try and cool it off. Taking my cup back into the livingroom, I saw another interesting sight. Slenderman was sitting on one end of the couch, one leg on the floor and one stretched out on it, just like last time. His white face stared at me in expectance, almost like a child waiting for a reward.

The thought made me smile uncontrollably like an idiot, trying not to laugh as I went around to take my own seat on the other side of him. I laid my legs out next to his, not unlike the last time we sat here and talked.

"Is something amusing?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

This didn't help me much, and I snickered quietly, no longer able to make my lips blow on my tea any more. "It's nothing. I'm assuming that you have more curious questions for me, so ask away." I took a sip of my drink, secretly enjoying how I confused him so.

"I have been thinking about something for a while now. When I came here and found Jeff trying to kill you, he didn't have his knife, which meant that you somehow fought him and got it away from his possession. This meant that you didn't want him to kill you. And yet you tried to get yourself killed many times by me, or by your own hand. Why didn't you let him take your life if you wanted to die so badly?"

I took another sip. I saw how it didn't make sense to him, but I did have my reasons. I took a minute to put together the words in my head so that they would make sense. "Believe me, I wouldn't mind it if I died, but I want to do it my way. If I could control it, anyway. That's why I came to you in the forest that day. That was the way that I chose to do it, I wanted to be killed by the infamous Slenderman."

I laughed a little at myself. "I didn't like Jeff anyway. I don't want to be another victim of his to add to all the others that he's killed. But in the end, I might not get to choose how I die. I just wanted to try and have my own attempt in the future."

Honestly I expected him to ask me a question that I had been dreading. _Do you still want to die?_ And I wouldn't be able to answer him. Or myself for that matter. Yes, it would be a great relief to end my life, but there was something in the back of my mind that fought against the statement. I didn't have anything to live for, so that wasn't it. Something just felt different. As if I wasn't completely sure what I wanted to do anymore.

I wasn't getting better. That would probably never happen. However I did feel that there had been a small change somewhere, though I couldn't figure out exactly where. Or what it was doing to me.

Thankfully Slenderman seemed to either not think about the question, or he decided not to ask it. "I see. I can understand your dislike towards the idea of being his victim."

I almost wanted to point out how blatantly _pissed_ he'd been when he pulled Jeff off of me and stabbed him against the wall, but I decided that it might not have been a smart idea. Besides, it didn't really matter. "Why do you like having these talks? Are you trying to learn more about humans or something?"

He gave a cold laugh that told me in itself that that was not the case. "Please. I couldn't care less about your race. I already know all that I need to know, and I have no desire to become obsessed with learning everything about how you function." The harshness died from his voice. "To answer your question, I enjoy your responses to my questions, whether they be about humans or not. It's not about the subject that we speak about. I find _you _interesting to talk to."

Well then. I took a large gulp of tea and winced a bit at the sudden warmth rushing into me. "Good. Because if you were just some misunderstood creature wanting to understand our lifestyle and not wanting to kill us, I would have to find some way to decapitate you."

This elicited a chuckle from him, which in turn made me smile a bit into my mug. Every sound he made seemed to have its own beauty and sound that made you want to hear more. I could probably listen to him talking all day.

Oh, right. I was.

* * *

"No, honey, go back inside," Marie told her daughter, shooing her back into the hotel room. The girl had come outside multiple times wanting to help us put the boxes into the U-haul. She now pouted at her mother with her eyebrows down and covering her eyes slightly, making a face so unique that I couldn't help but laugh.

At my laughter the girl looked up at me through her mother's arms. "Rei, can't I help? I'm big enough, I can carry all the boxes at the same time!"

"Your mother said no," I responded with an apologetic look. I pulled a box from the truck and the girl pouted at me then, making me chuckle and shake my head as I went over to the U-haul.

Marie closed the door to the hotel and locked it so that her daughter would stay inside. She came up to me with an exhausted sigh, picking up a box from the truck. "And she's not even a teenager yet. Can't wait for _those _years."

Heh. I went back to the truck for another box. This time I stacked a couple on my arms, careful not to drop anything.

I had talked with Slenderman until after lunchtime, when I decided I should get the stuff over to Marie. Mostly we just talked about how stupid people were and things like that. Much like our last conversation. But this time I didn't end up falling asleep on him, at least. He almost tried to tell me that I couldn't leave because he wanted to talk more, but I said that we could talk more when I got back. Sometimes he acted like a child, though I wouldn't ever say that to his face. I had no intention of pissing him off and getting my body impaled onto a tree.

I did accomplish keeping some food down. I made some soup for lunch and it didn't seem to upset my stomach. So far so good. I might still vomit it up on the way home though, I wasn't making any promises.

By now I had stopped questioning my choices having to do with Slenderman. I already knew I was insane, to a degree, but there was no reason now to be worried about spending this much time with him. Some would say that it wasn't normal, but then again, what IS normal? I sure as hell don't know. And I don't want to. I'm perfectly content in my world where I have some sort of a relationship with the being known as Slenderman, and I'm not exactly suffering for it.

"Again, thank you so much for doing this," Marie huffed, closing the back to the U-haul. "It means a lot to me."

"It's no big deal," I assured her. And it wasn't. Tom's things were going to be taken out of there sooner or later, I just happened to be the person to get them out.

She gave me a smile and stuck her hands in her back pockets. "Well, I hope to see you again in the future. It was nice meeting you."

I nodded at her, getting back into the truck and starting it. I wasn't sure that I would be able to spend any more time with Marie in the future. She reminded me too much of Tom. It wasn't a bad thing, but I didn't really feel like I had any right to be involved in his family. I'd only known him for a little while.

I pulled the truck out of the hotel parking lot before her little daughter could come out and look at me any more with her big eyes. Children would be the death of me.

Wouldn't life be so much easier if we all just stayed children? Not having to worry about getting jobs, or problems in the world, or any problem for that matter. We could just live blissfully in our ignorance and not have to experience the pain and cruelty of the world that comes with growing up.

Of course, I never had that oblivion to dwell in when I was a child. I had always been aware of things, it seemed. It only got worse as I got older. I remember knowing about my loneliness and knowing that only my real parents could alleviate it, not the fake foster parents that I was always pushed into. They weren't real.

I had known that life wasn't so great as people tried to make you believe it was. I wasn't like the ones who 'got over' their pain from being abandoned, I saw behind their fake smiles, saw the demons that were still alive as ever. And they wouldn't die, no matter how much they tried to bury them.

I never buried mine. I only told them to shut up and shoved them in their corners until I needed them.

The ride home was, of course, boring. But it was calm and quiet, which I didn't mind. The sun had just gone down. So it wasn't quite dark yet, but it was getting there. I had finally gotten rid of the instability in my body and felt a bit stronger. I wasn't completely back to my normal strength, but it was better than how I had been before.

However this did nothing to quell my speeding heart when I had to slam on my brakes right as I got onto the entrance to Tom's long driveway. In the middle of the gravel path stood a brown bear, staring at the headlights of the truck with beady eyes. I could see its breath coming in puffs through its nose. I just sat there, not knowing what to do. Do I go around it? Seeing how small the driveway was, that wasn't an option. I would have to wait for it to move.

Trying not to move too quickly, I let go of the wheel and felt under my shirt for my gun. My heart dropped to my stomach when I felt empty space. I had forgotten it at the house. That was simply amazing of me.

So now, if the bear attacked me, I wouldn't be able to stop it. I really screwed myself over this time.

As I sat there, the bear did move, but instead of simply going back into the trees around us it went to the passenger side of the truck. It seemed to be curiously sniffing around the entire vehicle. I watched it, frozen, expecting the worst. And, of course, I was right.

The bear suddenly reared up and put its front paws on the truck, slamming them down on it. This made me jump out of my skin. Part of me was angry that Tom's truck was getting ruined, but the other half wasn't nearly as concerned about the car. At least scratches and dents could be fixed.

I turned the car off. Maybe the bear would just go away.

Wrong this time.

The bear slammed its massive paws against the truck door, making the vehicle rock back and forth with the force. It repeated the motion several times as if trying to break open the machine to see what was inside.

It eventually ceased, only for a moment, before then pushing all its weight into the side of the truck. It gave a victorious howl when the car then teetered up, two wheels leaving the ground, making me swear and put my hands to anything I could grab in an attempt to hold myself still. However this did not matter as the truck landed on its side, throwing me against the door right next to me.

My face smacked against the window, bruising me instantly, but the only thing I could concentrate on was undoing my seatbelt that was currently cutting into my body painfully. When it was undone, my body collapsed against the car door. It looked so strange at this angle, staring at the pavement through the now cracked window.

While I was attempting to push myself up to a not so uncomfortable angle, the car suddenly lurched back onto its rightful position. I landed back against the seat, on my side, my legs stuck under the steering wheel. With a grunt I pulled them out and looked around to find the bear. It was still on the other side of the vehicle, but now it was towards the back of it, sniffing curiously at the bumper.

Alright. I had a couple of options here. I could stay in the car and be violently thrown around, but probably live while the bear got bored and went away, or I could get out and hope I could make it to the house before the bear chewed my head off. The second option was probably the stupidest thing to do.

…Let's go.

I shoved the car door open and leapt out, stumbling a bit before moving into a sprint down the driveway. I didn't glance back to see if the bear was following me. It would have slowed me down or made me trip.

All the way down the driveway I silently cursed myself for a lot of things. Not having my gun with me, not honking the horn to scare the bear away, and just being stupid in general.

Eventually I could see the house, just 15 feet ahead.

Just as relief washed through me, I heard a deep growl, and I spun around to see the bear just walking towards me. Its lips were curled into a snarl as it approached me. I backed away, my eyes darting from it to my surroundings, hoping to find something to defend myself with.

Suddenly I backed into something solid. I whirled around and looked at a black suit, then up to his white face staring down at me from his fully extended height. His black tendrils were moving about behind him as he simply moved around me, going between me and the bear. I could only watch in awe at his lithe movements.

Slowly he then transformed into his more monstrous form. I could see his limbs reshaping themselves into sharper angles and of course, his tentacles becoming larger and more restless.

The bear eyed him, seeming unsure, then took another step forward and stood up on its hind legs. It then gave a deep bellow, its jaws stretching widest as they could to allow more sound to come out. It was loud, even to me, who was behind Slenderman.

When the bear finished, it stayed on its two legs, as if waiting to see what Slenderman would do. I was expecting Slenderman to rip the thing apart, or simply toss it into the trees. But what he did next completely surprised me.

He inhaled, his form expanding with the intake of air, and let loose an absolutely deafening roar, making the ground vibrate under my feet. Involuntarily I fell onto my ass and could only stare up at him in shock, as the sound continued. It was the most inhuman noise I had ever heard, blaring into my ears. I felt very small, looking up at him in such amazement, feeling the power from his voice rattle me to my core.

I didn't see the bear running towards the forest until the sound finally ceased. I was dropped into a silence, my ears ringing. I saw the bear disappear into the woods and I kept staring at that one spot until Slenderman turned towards me. My ears were ringing heavily as my eyes focused on him, his form shifting back into its normal appearance.

I somehow found my voice and said brilliantly, "Holy _shit!_"

And then I began to laugh, pushing myself onto my feet and feeling an idiotic smile on my face. "I didn't know you could do that!"

He chuckled at me, clearly amused. I waited for my hearing to fully return again, which he did as well, letting us dwell in silence for a bit. I rubbed at my ears a little to make sure they weren't damaged.

I realized something. Slenderman could have just teleported the bear away, or just killed it, but instead he did _that_, whatever that was.

"Oh, you just wanted to show off," I concluded.

He seemed to be giving an invisible smirk. "How did you manage to bring that thing back with you?"

"It shoved the car over and I didn't feel like getting tossed around inside it, so I ran back here and it didn't like it." Crap. The car. All my excitement died away and I groaned, looking back down the driveway at the sorry looking truck sitting at the entrance. I would need to ask Tom's old boss to come here to make sure everything was alright with it.

I guess I could do that early tomorrow morning before I left to go to my parents' house. But if I couldn't drive it, I had no other way to get there. Unless Slenderman was in another weird 'helpful' mood. I wasn't about to ask him.

Sighing, I went into the house, with Slenderman following me like he so often did it seemed. Although sometimes I couldn't tell whether he was or not, his footsteps were so light. But I could feel his presence.

I took my boots off and set them by the door. When I had bent over to do so, I winced as pain blossomed in my side. Car doors were hard.

I probably had a pretty nasty bruise on my face as well. That was the first thing to hit the window when the truck landed on its side. Absently I poked at my face, walking into the kitchen and getting a glass of water to drink. While I was drinking it and leaning back against the island, Slenderman seemed to flow in through the doorway and stand in front of me.

I looked up at him as I sipped. He didn't say anything, but neither did I. Sometimes there wasn't really anything to say.

I set the empty glass next to me, feeling utterly exhausted. I was lost in my thoughts then, staring at his blank face, not focusing.

I was meeting my parents tomorrow. It felt almost surreal to me, having not known these people all my life yet having some connection to them. I wasn't planning to rekindle that connection by going there, of course. I'd seen ones that had done that. They could never fully have a normal relationship with their parents, no matter how much they wished to have one. The pain always got in the way. Or how they felt that their parents would never fully know them, seeing as they hadn't been with them on their journey of growing up.

Who knows? They might end up hating me once they get to know me, just like everyone else And then I would leave that place with nothing more but familiar emptiness. It honestly wouldn't bother me that much. I know that it should, but it simply didn't.

This was part of my awareness, knowing that something was wrong, but having no way to fix it or not even having the will to. I knew that so many things were wrong, but...they just seemed to be that way indefinitely. Set it stone, almost.

Yanking me from my thoughts was a cool hand on my cheek. My eyes refocused on Slenderman and I realized that his hand was resting against my face, almost in a caressing manner, but not moving. I was confused, but then I felt his powers healing my injuries and I was slightly less puzzled. Only slightly.

I kept myself rooted there, fighting the urge to simply collapse from my weariness. I was so tired. Not just physically, but mentally as well. There were times that I felt that I could not live like this any longer, tortured with this clarity of everything, and now was one of them. Tearing my eyes from his face I looked to his suit instead.

Soon I felt the tingling fade from my skin, signaling that I was fully healed again. I waited for him to take his hand away and leave me, letting me drown in my familiar dread and anguish, but his hand wouldn't leave my face.

Deeply puzzled, my eyes met with his white face again, searching for an answer, or anything that would alleviate my wonderment. Suddenly then I felt a strange thing coming from him. It was an emotion of some sort, seeping into my skin through his, making me become more alert. It was almost like a mix of concern and admiration.

For some reason I imagined that he would have had an adoring expression on his face, so I shook my head, trying to rid myself of his touch. "Don't look at me like that. I look like shit."

I was only making up excuses in hope that he would stop. But instead he halted my movements, not releasing me.

"Oh, how _wrong_ you are."

I couldn't stop myself from staring at him. I was so confused and I didn't know what to do here. "What?..."

"Even with all that agony shining in your eyes, you don't cease to be so mesmeric to me." His other hand came up to lightly smooth my hair out of my face, then cup the other side of it. "But why are you in such pain?..."

A storm was rising inside of me and threatening to consume me, from the inside out. I couldn't think straight due to all the usual feelings filling up my chest and choking me. It was as if they were trying to combat the calmness that Slenderman was projecting to me. I had never been in this situation before, or felt the overwhelming feeling of contentment rushing into me through his touch.

Conflicted, I began to shake my head again in another attempt to escape this blissful torment. But he wouldn't let me, pushing his slim figure against mine to keep me trapped there. Immediately then my body alighted with a cold fire.

Weakly my hands gripped the island behind me, and I gazed up into his featureless face, only to have it be so close to mine. His cool fingers then began to rub across my skin, the touch seeming featherlight, but so vividly real against my face. I was losing this battle. Though I wasn't so sure I wanted to fight any more.

His presence seemed to silently whisper unspoken words to me, some of them I made based on what emotion I could read from him. All of them seemed to be trying to soothe me, to urge me to let him in. I could feel an increase in the emotions that were filling me, the soft comfort finally beginning to overcome the indignant hurt that I'd felt for so long.

This had never happened before. I felt afraid, honestly and completely afraid. It was as if I was allowing him access into the deepest most vulnerable parts of me. In the back of my mind I had a fleeting thought to keep fighting, but I knew it was no use. Even if I shut him out, he could get back in without any effort. This was the only thing that would ever make me fear him. No one had been able to do this to me.

Why would he do this?...wasn't he supposed to be torturing me? Well, I guess this was a form of torture, but not the kind I was expecting. He was supposed to be making me suffer. But...not like this. Something was wrong with him. Something was...different. We were both losing ourselves, it seemed.

Quietly drowning in my newfound euphoria, I saw him lean down even closer to me, and he pressed his invisible (and what I thought to be nonexistant) lips to my forehead.

And then he pulled my consciousness away as easily as he pulled back from me.

* * *

**Hello friends! A lot of my writing here is based on/inspired by the music I listen to, so most of the things that happen between Slendy and Rei are just ideas that pop into my head when I listen to music xD but I like how they turn out :3 Hopefully you like dis chapter, I'm trying to update regularly as I can. If anyone out there is also talented with computer design or just art in general, please tell me! I really want to make some fanart for dis story D:**


	11. It Begins

I woke with an unpleasant start when Slenderman's voice drifted into my ears, giving me an involuntary feeling of contentment at the completely heavenly sound.

"Time to wake up…"

He wasn't in bed with me, that much I could tell. The mattress would have been tilting. I kept my eyes shut and flinched away from the sound, into my pillow. "No."

"If I recall correctly, you have certain things to do today that are rather important to you, so I believe that you need to get ready for said things."

It almost made me angry how his voice made me want to relax, just fall apart and listen to him speak about nothing in particular with the incredibly soothing magical sound. It was like making my ears blissfully high.

Before I could react, a tentacle curled around my ankle and yanked, pulling me onto the floor. Abruptly I shook my head at the shock, but couldn't do anything more as I was being dragged out of the room. I tried to keep from bumping into things in the hall as best as I could in my sleepy state.

Of course, then came the stairs. I let out an indignant noise as my body traveled over the sharp steps, giving me instant soreness and slight carpet burn.

At the end of the stairs I landed on the floor in the livingroom. On my back, I glared up at the tall figure in his signature black suit. He seemed to grin down at me while his faint chuckling could be heard in the air. If it didn't sound so effing beautiful, I would have told him to shut up.

I almost asked what he was laughing at, but then I imagined what I looked like in my disheveled state. I could feel how messy my hair was, not to mention my clothes being all ruffled from being dragged out of my own room. Had it been by any other person in the world, they would have received my foot to their face.

"Did you sleep well?" Slenderman asked in a clearly amused tone.

I shook my ankle to make him let go. When he did, I stood and fixed my clothes, scowling. "Until I was so rudely awakened. Speaking of, why did you wake me up?"

"Because I wanted to."

I was surprised that he gave not a logical answer, but a seemingly honest one. Nevertheless, I scoffed. "Who gave you permission to do whatever you want to me?"

Then he was towering over me at one of his rather taller heights, at about two feet above my head. He gave a dark laugh that almost made me shiver from the sheer way he did it. "I do not need **permission** to do what I do. I do it because I **can**, and, besides, there is nothing you can do to stop me."

After glaring up at his white face, I put my hands out to move him away so that I could go to the kitchen. However as I moved past him, my hands were captured by his black tendrils and pulled together behind my back, and his presence was suddenly close to me.

For a moment I almost struggled, but I remembered who we both were and decided that it would do no good. So I stayed still as I felt his form only an inch away from mine. This way I could feel the power and pulse of his natural draw more intensely. He leaned down silently so that his face was just above my ear.

"I trust that you realize by now that you belong to me. Do you understand now that your actions have consequences? You coming into the forest that night resulted in all of this. It is your own doing."

At this I couldn't help but burst out a laugh. "You think I meant for this to happen? I can't control the shit that happens in my life!"

"Hm. Are you saying that you wish that you were not involved with me?"

"I didn't say _that_." And I meant it. Sometimes, yes, he was a bit much to deal with. But for the most of the time he was someone I could stand to be around. He kept me company at least.

No, I won't admit anything more than that. Who would I be if I did? Not myself, that's for sure.

"Then...how do you feel about it?"

With another laugh I shook my head at him, turning my face so that I could see his and look into it. "You're not as bad as you think you are. Let's just say that. I don't mind being around you most of the time."

He was silent for a few moments. I thought that maybe I had pissed him off, or at least annoyed him a little, but he spoke again after he gave a sigh. "Well, it seems that I need to improve my tactics then."

"I disagree. I like you the way you are." When I spoke the last few words I wanted to slap my forehead. And my face. Repeatedly. How could i just admit that to him?

Unfortunately he didn't let it go like I'd hoped. Instead he kept going, more of his tendrils coming out and slowly moving their way up my arms and legs. "Interesting. Do explain what you mean."

I thankfully came up with a logical excuse to save my ass. "I mean I prefer you being like this over you torturing me viciously. It's the logical choice to choose that over pain."

"But, we've never been very logical, have we?"

The way his voice seemed to twist into a smile made one grow on my face as well. He was contagious. Dangerously. "I guess not."

Suddenly then all of his tentacles stopped moving up my body and vanished, leaving me alone and surprised. But, he was Slenderman. There was absolutely no way to predict anything about him.

A car door slamming made me jump slightly. I turned to the door and went over to it, seeing a figure walking up to the porch. It was Tom's old boss. His name was Jared I think. I had been focused on other things that day in the car when he was blabbing at me.

I opened the door as soon as he knocked on it. "What?"

He looked startled. But then, he composed and gave me what I guessed to be his 'work' face. It was stoic and business-like. "I came by to ask if you wanted an oil change on the truck, since it's about time again. I had it scheduled. But I noticed that the truck was um...damaged. What happened?"

Oh, yeah. Duh. "A bear kind of pushed it over a couple times. I was actually planning to call you and ask if you would come look at it. I have to go visit some people today and I need the car to be functional."

At his look of horror, I mentally rolled my eyes. Here it comes. "A bear? Were you hurt?"

_Obviously not, moron. _"No. I got out and ran back here. Can you look at the truck for me?"

"Yeah, definitely."

I took a few seconds to get my boots and shove them on, then follow him down the porch and to the truck, sitting there at the end of the driveway. In the daylight I could now see the scratches and dents that it wore as a result of the events the other night. I silently hoped that the car would be fit to travel. Otherwise I might have to actually ask Slenderman for a favor. (insert shiver here).

I stood with my hands in my pockets as Jared inspected all the outside damage, then opened the hood. Absently I looked around us. It was just after dawn. The air smelled crisp and fresh, just like a certain creature I knew.

Oh dammit. Shut up.

Trying not to think about him, I looked at all the colors swirling in the clouds above us. There was lavender, pink, and a bright orange.

"Alright, it looks like there isn't much damage except for the dents and such," Jared stated, up to his elbows digging in the engine parts. He gave a grunt and pulled away, shutting the hood. "I can change the oil really quick, if you'd like. But I would say that it's fit to drive. Everything looks okay, just a little jumbled around on account of the bear."

"Good. And I would like that oil change," I replied. With that we went back to the house. I went inside while he got all of his tools out of his car to work on the truck. Taking my boots off, I realized that I needed to get ready for my trip.

When I went towards the stairs, I didn't see the black tendril move under my feet until I tripped and almost fell on my face. Getting up, I turned to huff at him. "Was that really necessary?"

The reply was only a light chuckle. He had disappeared again.

Asshole.

I stomped up the stairs to take my shower. While I was standing in the steaming water, letting it cascade down, I let my mind wander.

What would my mother be like? Jonathan said that I looked just like her, except for the eyes. But her appearance wasn't really what I was concerned about. From what Jonathan had told me, she sounded like me. Hm. Was insanity hereditary?

Probably not. Well...I didn't think that it had ever been proven.

When I went into my room with a towel wrapped around me, I saw that my clothes, my favorite outfit to be precise, was already laid out on my bed. My boots were waiting at the end of the bed on the floor. Staring at them, I didn't move when I felt a chill creep into the room.

I felt his presence move behind me, and I turned halfway to him. He had been strangely helpful recently, and it was really freaking confusing. It might even start to piss me off eventually.

He seemed to be staring at my exposed shoulders and lack of any clothing whatsoever. It wasn't in a bad way, he just seemed surprised for some reason.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked plainly, as if asking what the weather was.

His face tilted back up to meet my gaze. A low chuckle. "A lot of things, dear girl."

"You've been almost...helpful recently and it's just...weird. Why are you doing it?"

"Because I feel like it. And I'm not _helping_ you, I simply like doing things to make your duties go faster. So that way, I'll have more time with you to myself."

His logic. It was so different, yet it did make sense. It almost made me mad how much sense he made sometimes. Things in my life weren't supposed to make sense. They never did for me, at least. I had gotten used to it.

"That better be the truth," I said after a moment. "Because I will destroy you if you're going _nice _on me. I didn't sign up for that." ...Then again, I didn't sign up for any of this.

He gave an incredulous sound. "Nice? I would never. I can assure you of that."

"Good." I then glanced at my clothes, then back at him. "Are you going to leave? Or do I have to get dressed with you standing there?"

Almost instantly he left me. Shaking my head, I began to get changed. While I pulled my shirt over my head I wondered how he had known what my favorite outfit was. Maybe he had just chosen one that he had seen most often or something.

In the bathroom I brushed the tangles out of my hair and stole a glance at my reflection. I had bags under my eyes again. On account of being woken up so early, no doubt. But other than that everything looked like it usually did. I ruffled my hair so that it stuck up a little in some places, how I liked it.

Suddenly then my vision was cut off. I realized after a heart attack that it was just Slenderman's hands over my eyes. What was he...Oh. He was healing my puffy eyes. But why?

I stood there silently, my frustration growing at his constant ways of puzzling me. He was probably doing these things to try and piss me off. Wonderful.

"You're annoyed," he said, his voice above my head of course.

"Of course I am," I replied without hiding the irritation from my voice.

"Why?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer."

"It's MY answer."

His hands left me, having finished their job. I inspected the product of his work, my eyes no longer swollen, looking bigger and clearer with my newly tightened skin around them like it should be. I had the intensity back into my gaze just how I liked it. I could stare at people like this regardless of whether my eyes were puffy or not, but I preferred it being to its full effect.

Turning to face him, I had to lean against the counter because of how close I realized he was. However this didn't help me much as he enclosed me between him and the sink. He wasn't touching me, but his form was not even an inch from mine, giving me the effect of having my heart speed up and my body twitch a little uncontrollably. I was fighting the pull once again.

Even with being exposed to his power so often, it did nothing to lessen the effect of its potency. I fought to breathe properly as I stared up at him, trying to figure out a lot of things. For one, why he seemed to be hanging around me so much this morning. It was like he wanted to leave and be somewhere else but he kept coming back, as if to check on me.

Before I could speak, a tendril curled slowly around my waist, covering my whole midsection up to the top of my ribs. At this contact my breath hitched. I kept looking into Slenderman's face for an answer, for anything, but he gave me nothing except for this overwhelming feeling of need.

He didn't seem to be doing this on purpose, to make me suffer like this. Or maybe he was, I really couldn't think straight in this situation. I could focus on one thing for maybe a second and then my mind would wander to other things.

"When will you be coming back?" his impossibly smooth voice broke my trance and caressed my ears, flooding my brain with its amazing softness, just like his skin.

It took me another few seconds to gather my scattered thoughts and put together a coherent answer. "Later tonight maybe. It depends on how long I stay there. I don't plan on staying the night though."

He seemed to want to say something else, but couldn't. For whatever reason I couldn't figure out. I could never figure anything out about him. So there we stayed, me silently drowning, yet not minding a second of it.

But then he left me, taking all of my euphoria with him, bringing me crashing down into the reality that I was forced to face every day. Feeling my body regain its clarity, I moved away from the counter, my regular emotions filling me once more. I would never admit that I wanted him to stay, even for a second more, to take me away from myself and let me sleep in the comforting blanket of nothingness he seemed to give me so often.

I would never admit that, not even to myself. I couldn't allow myself to fall into the habit of becoming addicted to him, however easy it would be to just give in. He wouldn't stay, they never did. Soon I would be left alone to drown in myself, with no more of him to keep me afloat in his endless sea of intoxication.

I wasn't being pessimistic. I just knew that these things happen and it was bound to happen again.

When I was fully dressed and had everything I needed, I grabbed a snack from the kitchen to take with me and headed out the door. Jared was putting his things back into his small car, and he looked up when he heard me shut and lock the door.

"Everything's ready to go," he said, shutting his trunk. "If there are any more problems, come see me anytime you like. Have a good trip."

I nodded and he drove away with a smile on his face. I made the trip back to the truck after he left, listening to the gravel crunching under my feet. I went over the things that I had in my head, making sure I had all that I needed.

I'd had some of the money that Tom left me put onto a credit card of some sort. That would sustain me if I needed it. I had my gun, a small backpack of emergency things like food, water and such. I was prepared for my trip.

But mentally? I couldn't stop thinking about what both my parents would be like, and how they would treat me. Jonathan had seemed okay, but how would they both act together? What kind of lives did they live?

While I was getting closer to the truck, the quiet sound of static passed by my ears, so I stopped and turned around. I saw the shape of Slenderman standing by the entrance to the forest. He didn't move, and neither did I. I raised my hand and gave him a small wave to signal that I was leaving. After he still didn't react, I went and got into the truck, buckling myself in and starting the machine.

Slenderman seemed to stand there until I pulled out of the driveway, waiting until I drove out of sight before he disappeared into his domain. Something had been off about him today. But, a lot of things about him were off. Maybe he hadn't hunted in a while or something.

Turning on the radio, I searched for a few minutes before finding my favorite station with the bands playing that I liked. Listening to the music that seemed to say all the words that my mind loved to hear, I began my trip that i never thought I would be taking.

* * *

I was now only an hour away from their house. I had stopped at a gas station and used a payphone to call Jonathan and tell him how far I was. He sounded excited, but very nervous as well. I wished that I could say that I was excited, but I was preoccupied with my mind assuming things and trying to figure out how the day would go. After I hung up, I went to put more gas in the truck. As I stood and waited, my mind elsewhere, a small figure sprinted out of the convenience store in front of me and darted around my truck, hiding on the other side of it.

Before I could speak or do anything, the cashier to the store came out waving a fist in the air, yelling. "Come back here! You can't steal from me, little brat!"

The man was chubby and had major hair loss, which he of course covered with a comb-over that was all over the place from his running. His greasy face red, he looked at me. "Did you see where she went?"

It only took me a few seconds to decide on what I would do. I had seen the girl's look of exhilaration and terror when she passed by me, the one so familiar that I'd worn as well. Although I never had fear.

"I saw her go down the road," I said to the cashier, pointing at the road that would lead into the town up ahead. The girl could have easily run down the road and be out of sight before the cashier came out.

Looking at where I pointed, the cashier growled and sighed. "Great. No use calling the cops now. She could have run into the woods for all I know." He went back into the store, fixing his comb-over.

When he was out of sight completely, I removed the pump from my truck and went around to the passenger side where the girl was crouching, holding an armful of things from the store. She looked up at me in fear at first, then relief.

"Thank you," she spoke softly, struggling to hold the stolen food and items.

I got into my truck and pulled out my backpack, dumping my contents out onto the seat, then handing the empty sack to her. At her shocked eyes, I rolled mine.

"Don't take more than you can carry. Be smart about it."

Nodding, she put her things into the bag and put it on. "I'm new to this...I ran away recently. I was done with living in my hellhole of a house."

The girl looked about thirteen or fourteen. One would have thought that she was too immature to do anything like this, but by the fading bruises on her skin and the familiar hatred in her eyes, I knew that she wasn't so young on the inside.

I didn't say anything more after that. I shut the door to the passenger side and was turning to go around the truck when the girl then asked me to wait. I glanced back at her in question.

"Why did you help me?" Her green eyes sparkled with not suspicion, but wonderment. "I just stole a shitload of stuff from a store. Anyone else would have stopped me and let me get arrested."

I could have told her that I knew what it was like, struggling to survive when you had nothing to help you. I could have explained all the things that I'd done, and advice to further aid her in the future, but I didn't. I didn't need to. "I'm not like everyone else here. I don't care about their rules and what they say is right and wrong. Whatever they do in this life that they think is right won't have any effect in the end. Do what you can and don't get caught, even if you want to rub it in their faces."

She stared at me then, eyes bright, then she smiled. My demons gripped my insides tight in their claws as I recognized that smile that I had felt so many times. The girl gave a determined nod and stood up carefully. "Thanks. I've never met anyone like you. I wish I could talk to you more, but I think I should get going in case that moron decides to call the cops. See you, stranger."

With a wave of her hand she took off in the opposite way that I had told the cashier. I watched until she was gone, then got back into my truck.

I drove back onto the road. I almost reached over for the food that I had packed, but my stomach gave an unpleasant clench in disapproval. I grabbed my water bottle and drank it instead.

If anyone else had been in that gas station, the girl would have been completely out of luck. Me and my truck had been the only occupants however. She got very lucky this time. I myself had never been very lucky, so I'd never trusted that anyone would help me. Of course I was right. If anyone ever caught me, they immediately tried to bring me in for punishment.

There was never any hope for me in this world.

* * *

**Hello my friends! I'm sorry this took so long, but I wrote a lot today and I hope you like it :3 Leave a review if you please, and thank you to all my silent readers as well :3**


	12. Never Had Control

In my hand I held the piece of paper that had an address written on it in black ink. 628 Ruby Drive. I sat in my truck, looking out the windshield at the house in front of me. The numbers 628 were above the front door, as if they were calling out to me. I could see the street sign a little further down the road, saying Ruby Drive.

I glanced back down at the paper in my hand and repeated the process. I had done this at least five times already. I couldn't bring myself to get out of the truck yet. Their house was right there in front of me, Jonathan's familiar black car in the driveway. All I had to do was walk up and knock on the door. And meet the people that I had never known in my life, yet they were the ones who brought me into this world. My parents.

The word sounded strange, even in my mind, having not heard it said by myself before. I hadn't thought of them as my parents before. They had just been the ones who created me, then left me without a trace. I had never put a name to them.

I hadn't thought of them much, unlike the others I knew who obsessed over the parents that had left them alone to suffer, wondering endlessly what they had done to deserve being abandoned. They would never find the answer of course, and their unrelenting sadness consumed them, in whatever way it could.

Maybe I should just go back. Would Slenderman be waiting for me? I wouldn't expect it. I wasn't expecting anything that I ever got from him. I could just go back to the house and have everything be back to how I'd always known it. Alone, uneventful except for the occasional appearance of a creature who murdered children for their souls but seemed to be conflicted at the thought of killing me. I could sit on the couch and eat frosted mini wheats like nothing ever happened.

But, I had come all the way here. I couldn't really figure out why myself. I wanted to meet them, yes, but I wasn't sure about anything beyond that. A relationship with them? It would never be completely there. The bond was supposed to have been there already from the start. Now because of the gap, it could never truly find its place again.

I could never seem to fill in any of the other spaces either. Sometimes one did start to form, but it was severed almost immediately. It hurt too much.

I slid down in my seat and rubbed my forehead, glancing over at my things strewn about on the passenger side. I should probably just get it over with. Hey, if it didn't go well, maybe I could just try to kill myself again and maybe Slenderman would actually finish the job for me.

One could only dream.

Opening the car door, I stepped out and stood there for a moment. The house was a blue color with a darker trim. The yard looked halfway between unkept and mowed, and a few shrubs lined either side of it as if to create a line to separate it from the neighbors.

My feet carried me up the cement driveway and up to the wooden door. Fighting the thought to just turn and run, never to come back, I brought my hand up and knocked on the door. Taking a deep breath, bracing myself, I made my body stop fighting me and waited for what was to come.

Jonathan opened the door and smiled wide at me, his eyes the brightest I had seen them. He wore a similar outfit to the one I first saw him in, but this time he only had a T-shirt on with his jeans. "I'm glad you made it here okay. Please come in, I bet you're freezing out there."

When he held open the door and stepped aside, I almost considered telling him no and just staying out in the frigid air. Cold meant unfeeling. I preferred it.

However I simply walked inside and let him close the door behind me, erasing all thoughts of escaping. No turning back now.

"How was the trip? Do you want anything to drink or eat? We just made some macaroons and they're so yummy," Jonathan poured out excitedly.

"I'm fine. The trip was okay," I replied to him.

As he opened his mouth to say something else, a chubby cat suddenly darted over to me and took great pride in rubbing its body all over my legs and boots. It looked up at me and gave me a soft meow, as if saying hello.

"Oh, that's Marley," Jonathan said with another smile. I wondered if his face would permanently stay that way, it was all he had done since I arrived. He bent down to pet Marley, who gave him an affectionate purr.

A quick glance around told me that the kitchen was to my right, the bedrooms down the hall directly in front of me, and the livingroom to my left. I was standing on hardwood floor, but it faded into carpet in the hall and the entrance to the livingroom. The walls were a very light green, with no pictures on the walls. Nothing on the walls it seemed.

The house smelled heavily like fresh cookies. But there was also the smell of wood, and paint. Maybe they were remodeling.

Faintly I could hear something coming from the livingroom just a few feet away. I could only see a recliner from here, but the sound of a guitar playing could be heard from the room.

She was in there. Just a few feet away. The woman who had made me what I am, who gave me life, who took the time to help create me. She had been so absent from my life, and yet I knew she had always been there, somewhere. For whatever reason.

The tune she was playing was one that I knew from somewhere. I then recognized it as one that I had heard on the internet quite a while ago. It was one of my favorite songs, even though it had never been produced by the person on youtube who made it.

I could hear Jonathan talking, but I couldn't make out the words. They sounded drowned out as I could only focus on the sound of the guitar playing, my feet taking me against my will towards the livingroom. Jonathan had stopped talking and was now walking quietly behind me. He understood what was happening.

I stepped soundlessly into the livingroom and let my eyes wander in the space, finally landing on a figure sitting on a couch on the far side of the room. All of my surroundings faded from me it seemed. I saw nothing, felt nothing. I could only look at the figure as her fingers moved along the black guitar in her lap. Her head was down, looking at the notes she played, her long black hair draping over one side of her face. She wore a simple black tank top with a pair of dark denim skinny jeans. I could see the wedding ring on her right hand.

She didn't look up for a while, and I watched and listened as she finished the song. When she did, she didn't move for a moment, but then she moved the guitar to set it on the floor beside her. After she did so, she glanced up, and her eyes flicked from Jonathan to me. As soon as they landed on me they stayed locked there.

She froze then. Only for a second however, before she stood up silently. She was a few inches taller than me, that I could tell. Her frame was like a mirror image of mine. She had more curves of course, but she looked healthier as well. Her black hair cascaded down her back, longer than mine, and slightly messy. It looked as if she had been running her hands through it constantly.

Her face was thin, with high cheekbones, a pale complexion. However her eyes were what I fixated on the most. They were a smoky color, way lighter than mine, seeming almost transparent. But they were icy, and she had a scanning look in them as she made her way over to where I stood.

She didn't smile, didn't move to hug me, didn't say a word when she got within a couple feet of me. It was strange, how she stayed there with a look in her eyes that told me how cautious she was. It was as if I was a wild animal, about to flee at any moment.

But I did no such thing. I couldn't do anything, it seemed. My mind couldn't conjure any thoughts or actions. Everything had shut off.

It all came rushing back on again when the woman spoke.

"Hello, Rei."

She didn't talk like I thought she would. Her tone sounded so much like mine that it almost made me want to laugh.

I had expected a lot of things. I thought she would be like Jonathan, a big ball of wound up excitement, or maybe a little judgmental of me. Or be completely indifferent to me.

She was more like me than I expected.

Her voice was different than mine, sounding a lot more soft and gentle than I could ever be. She didn't do it on purpose either. It was naturally how she sounded. She had a voice that made her sound like she was a lot smaller than she actually was. More fragile.

Her appearance looked anything but, however. She remained standing tall and almost guarded with an air of something that felt like she had been doing this a lot longer than I had.

I realized that I should have responded by now, but I had absolutely no clue what to say. As I struggled to find words, she spoke before I could.

"You look more like me than I thought," she said. Her eyes were inspecting me now. "Thank god you didn't get my stupid eye color. Jonathan's looks better."

At this, Jonathan scoffed. "As if, Charlotte."

Charlotte. Her name is Charlotte. Jonathan...and Charlotte.

"You think it's nice to be stuck with these pale-ass eyes? I look like a zombie most of the time," Charlotte continued.

In the back of my mind I was laughing at how similar she sounded to me. On the outside I was trying to get my mind to work properly. I was slowly beginning to regain myself, bit by bit.

"You're not going to faint, are you? Do you need to eat or something?" Charlotte asked me, her eyes searching mine for some sight that I was coherent.

Back in control, I shook my head. It was as if I had seeped out of my body for a while, and I had just settled back into my skin. Let's hope that doesn't happen again. "I'm fine. I don't...really know what to do here. I can't think of anything to say."

She looks at me with knowing eyes. "Yeah, I get that. I don't really know what to say to you either. I'm just going with whatever pops into my head. You sure you don't want anything?"

"No. That's okay."

I wanted to bitch slap myself and have something to say. Anything. Shouldn't I be asking questions like why did you name me this? Or, tell me all about you. Those things sounded completely stupid and ridiculous to me. But it annoyed me that I couldn't think of anything that I really wanted to say.

"How did you get here?" Charlotte asked. Marley circled around her feet.

"I drove my truck." Well, at least we're making small talk. Better than nothing, I suppose.

"Let's go sit down," Jonathan broke in, ushering us to move with his arms. We moved over to the couch that Charlotte had originally been sitting on. She sat on one end, me on the other. Jonathan took his seat in a recliner facing us.

After a moment of silence, Jonathan spoke.

"Do you have a job? Or a boyfriend?" At the last sentence he gave a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

At this I couldn't help but crack a smile at his weird face. "No. And sort of."

"Really?" His smile got bigger. "Who is it?"

Would that be something, telling them that I was involved with the supernatural killer known as Slenderman? Secretly I chuckled at the thought. "Just a guy." Sort of. Hehehe.

Suddenly then Jonathan got up with his mouth open in a realization of some sort. "Oh, wait right here, I have something I forgot to show you!" With that he ran out of the room, and he could be heard moving things in the hallway.

"He's a bit...energetic," Charlotte said apologetically, giving me her searching eyes again.

"I see that," I replied. I moved my foot slightly, and nudged the guitar in between us on the floor. Oh yeah. "So, you can play?"

Charlotte nodded and picked up the guitar. Absently she plucked a few strings. "I only know a few songs. I learned how to play from Jonathan. He's a music teacher at the high school here in town." She looked up at me, her fingers still moving the strings. "Do you know how to play?"

At my nod, she reaches over to hand me the black guitar. Reluctantly I take it and put it in my lap. I don't tell her that I only know one song, and that I'm self taught. But I do know all the chords for the guitar and such, so I play a few of them for show.

While I do this, we sit in silence for a few minutes. The sound of Jonathan searching through things can be heard distantly.

"Rei?" Charlotte's small voice asks.

I stop playing and glance at her. "Hm?"

"I'm not going to bullshit you. I can't imagine what you think of me and Jonathan, and I don't need to know, but I want to tell you that I wish we didn't do what we did. I know that probably doesn't mean much to you, but...I'm trying to apologize for doing that to you. I can't imagine how it must have been."

My fingers found the strings again, slowly and absently strumming them in no specific pattern. I didn't look up at her. I knew that she was trying to pour her heart out to me and explain.

"I just hope that you didn't turn out like me. You don't need to explain anything or say anything to me if you don't want to. You could just get up and walk out of here if you'd like. I would completely understand. I didn't expect for you to even want to meet us today, honestly."

She paused, and I flicked my eyes to her for a second to let her know that I was still listening.

Her eyes reflected a hidden pain. She smiled sadly, not unlike mine. "I can't tell you how much I regret not being there for you. I'm not saying I would have helped with anything, I'm not a good person myself, but maybe I could have stopped anything bad from happening to you. I haven't been able to function properly for the last 18 years, knowing that you were out there, alone."

Now she started crying, her face contorting for a second before she inhaled and shook it off. Tears still escaped, though. Her eyes fell to her lap. I couldn't play anymore, hands frozen, mesmerized by the sight of her.

"Now look what I've done," she said with a quiet laugh. "Turned into a big crybaby. But, that's what I get I suppose. Anyway…" She wiped at her eyes, sniffling. "Like I said, I'm not going to bullshit you with anything. I want you to take a second and tell me everything that's going through your mind. Tell me what you think of me, and anything else. Be honest. I need to hear this from you."

Unable to keep my eyes off her face, my hands clenched the guitar in my lap. Her crying was somehow making me uncomfortable. She wasn't supposed to be crying. What did she ask me?

Remembering, I took a breath, hoping to shut out all the strange emotions that I could not describe. How do I tell her _everything_? I couldn't find the right words to start with. I wasn't even sure that I could tell her.

"Please, Rei," Charlotte added when I didn't speak right away.

I heard Jonathan's footsteps come out of the hallway, and hearing Charlotte's strained voice, he seemed to stop right outside of the livingroom to listen. But he wouldn't intrude.

How strange all of this was.

"I don't really know what I should be doing here," I began. I felt uneasy. "I never thought of having to be in this situation, meeting you and such. I wasn't prepared...for any of this. Then again, I've never really been prepared for anything that's happened in my life."

A quick glance at Charlotte and she nodded for me to continue. She was soaking up every word, as if she had been starving in the desert and I had offered her water.

Here we go. "I can't tell you everything. It's not because I don't want to, but because some things don't need to be repeated. I ran away from my foster parents when I got out of high school. I couldn't stand it any more, being part of their fake family. No one ever came looking for me. But, I didn't want them to." A sickly sweet pain rose in my chest as I thought of Tom. "Someone took me in eventually, let me stay at his house, but then he died. And he gave all his property to me, including his truck, which I never knew he had planned with is lawyer."

By now Jonathan had crept into the room quietly. He sat down carefully in the recliner, as if the whole room would shatter if he moved too suddenly. With everything that was going on, I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Reality had never been my friend.

I looked back at Charlotte. Silent tears escaped from her eyes, and by now she had given up on trying to stop them. She sat unmoving, staring at me with those pale eyes so full of things that I couldn't read. She wasn't showing concern, or pity, but rather grief and regret.

"I don't think it's your fault that I turned out this way." My fingers ran across the guitar, the smoothness of it. "I would have ended up like this no matter what. It's just what the world does to you, I guess." I paused for a second. "I never had any resentment towards you. I wasn't angry, or upset, or anything. I knew that I was alone, and I couldn't do anything about it. Of course I wondered a bit why it was like this, but after coming up with nothing, I gave up on it."

Feeling all of my demons clawing at my insides, relentlessly, I gave a small laugh. It would never stop. "I can't have a normal life. It's not something that I ever wanted, or that was available to me. I can't be a perfect little daughter to you, or even have the relationship with you that should have been there in the first place. What I've become won't allow me such things."

The aching in my chest was so familiar to me. It reminded me that I was still alive, still endlessly suffering in this reality. I let it fill me, allowing me to continue with my smile full of pain still on my face. "I want to say so many things. I can't bring myself to do it, though. I don't think that some things need to be said. They don't matter. But what does matter...is that I want you to know that if I hurt you, it's not because I mean to." I met Charlotte's gaze with my own.

"I can't control anything in my life. If I could, I would come live with you and get to know you both."

With that I finished, not being able to think of anything more to add. This time I looked to Jonathan, and he looked full of emotion just like Charlotte. His adam's apple was bobbing up and down, wobbling with his eyes.

I expected Charlotte to explode and start sobbing, she looked as if she would. Her form was shaking slightly with tremors. I hadn't meant to do this to them. I won't say that I felt bad about it, I just didn't want them to look so upset. Their cat Marley came over and meowed, pawing at Jonathan's leg. Jonathan reached down to pet the cat, still not tearing his eyes from me and Charlotte.

What a mess I made. But, it's unavoidable. Chaos just likes to follow me around like a lost puppy.

Charlotte gave a deep, shaky sigh. "I'm guessing that sorry doesn't mean very much to you. I hate apologizing, anyway."

"Me too," I agreed.

"I have to ask. Do you still want to be in contact with us?"

I started to play the guitar again. "Yes. Do you?"

"Yes, I do. More than you know. But you have to tell me if I get annoying."

"Okay."

Jonathan looked up from petting Marley. "Rei? If you need any financial help, or anything, please ask. We'll do anything for you."

I shook my head at him. "You don't need to help me. I have everything that I need back at my house. I won't ask anything from you that you don't have, anyway." I could tell that they were still struggling. You could see it pretty easily in people, the way they carried themselves and talked.

There was a long pause then. Charlotte managed to get herself together, growling at how much she had cried. She sniffled angrily and looked to her husband. "Jonathan, will you get my guitar case please? And some tissues."

At her request he got up. Something fell from his pocket and slid across the floor to me, and I picked it up to hand it back to him. But he held up his hands and backed away, smiling.

Confused, I looked at what it was. My mind stopped functioning for a second. It was a card. A birthday card, with a picture of Marley on the front of it, a cone hat on her head. She seemed to be glaring intensely at the camera. Upon opening the card, I saw the writing inside it right under the 'Happy Birthday!' message.

'Happy 19th Birthday, Rei! We love you with all our hearts, and hope that you have an amazing day!' Signed, Jonathan and Charlotte.

Staring at the words, I couldn't figure out how to react. Sure, I'd received cards from my foster families, but they had been required to do it to make me feel included or some shit. They didn't actually care.

And, this card was handmade. I could see that pretty clearly. It had been made carefully, almost intricately.

I didn't notice that Jonathan had left the room until Charlotte spoke.

"I know your birthday was two days ago, but we wanted to give you something anyway."

I had forgotten. It had been my 19th birthday and I didn't even think about it. I never celebrated it, of course, I saw no reason to.

"Thank you," the words escaped my mouth without my consent. When they did I faced Charlotte, her face covered in shock.

Then she shook her head. "Don't ever thank me, Rei. I don't deserve it. I've done nothing for you until now to be worthy of thanks from you."

Chewing on my lip, I had nothing more to say. I set the card on the small table next to me. I made a mental note to remind myself to get it before I leave.

Just then Jonathan came back in with a black guitar case and a small box of tissues. He gave both to Charlotte, then gave me a smile. His eyes were rimmed in red. So he had cried too.

After wiping her face and blowing her nose, Charlotte put her guitar into its hard case and clicked the latches shut. "Rei, I can't ask anything of you right now. But I would like to meet up with you again sometime in the future. If that would be alright with you. Just think about it."

"Okay."

During the whole time of being here, I had felt my walls trying to close in on me, make me want to leave and not speak to anyone. It was almost deafening, the thoughts racing through my head of what I could do. What I _should _do. It had been a great effort to quiet everything and focus on what I wanted to do. I did want to come here, regardless of how things turned out. I needed to see how it ended, good or bad.

So I had pushed all my thoughts out, bracing myself for whatever happened, throwing myself into the unknown. If I hadn't come here, my wandering mind would have eaten me alive.

I was ripped from my thoughts by Charlotte holding out her guitar case to me. Not knowing what she was doing, I took it with a confused look.

She smiled a sad, yet happy smile. It was strange how she could do both. "I want you to have it. Just a little piece of me...and for your birthday. I know it's not much, but...I would feel better if you'd have it."

"Oh." I hadn't really received presents from anyone on my birthday in the past, not that I could remember anyway. Everything was so weird today. "You sure?"

She nodded. "Absolutely. Maybe we could play together sometime. I have another guitar in the garage somewhere."

Jonathan set something on the guitar case on top of my lap. It was a plastic container with some macaroons inside it. "Just some goodies for the road. Unless you want to stay the night, because we have a guest bedroom all ready-"

"Jonathan," Charlotte chastised. "We don't need to smother her. Although she probably doesn't mind, but let's let her decide what she wants to do."

I glanced at the clock on the wall across from us. It was almost five. With a glance at both of them, I remembered to grab the card from the table and added it to my stack of gifts. "I would be happy to stay another time. I just didn't bring anything with me, and I kind of have someone to get home to." _More like some__**thing**_.

Jonathan gave another suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. "Ah, I see. Well, best not to keep your lover waiting then."

At this I couldn't stop the burst of laughter that exploded from me. Just the idea of putting the words lover and Slenderman together were enough to make me erupt into gut-busting hysterics. I tried to close my mouth and stop, but it didn't do much good. Charlotte's face was glowing with amusement, while Jonathan looked a bit more surprised, but nonetheless enjoying the effect that he put on me.

Oh, god. I'm so hopeless.

Finally recovering, I fought back the tremors in my diaphragm and looked at them both. "Excuse that. It's just an inside joke." And part of my insanity.

I then began to stand up, knowing it was time for me to leave. Somehow I held all of my things in my arms and made it out the door, with both Charlotte and Jonathan trailing after me.

"You can call anytime you like, for whatever reason," Jonathan said, his arm around Charlotte's shoulders. "We'll be here for you."

I put all my gifts into the passenger seat, careful to put the card safe in the glove box. I leaned back out and shut the door, turning to walk over to them. Holding my hands behind my back, I looked at the both of them, from their slippers to their warm but slightly sad eyes.

Charlotte's face looked very tired. She had very few lines, but you could see that they were etched in by years of worrying and sorrow. Would I become like that?

Jonathan's smile had a way of going from ear to ear it appeared, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. He was a thinner man, but very fit and muscular. I could tell from the both of them that they were a perfect match for one another. If Charlotte was anything like me, it was good for her to have someone like Jonathan to have by her side.

When no one spoke for a while, I started biting my lip, not knowing what to do. I knew that I had to say goodbye, but in the back of my mind there was something that was poking at me. Like there was something else that I had to do.

But I couldn't think about it for long, for Charlotte had slowly left Jonathan's touch and began moving across the space between us. She walked very slowly, taking tentative steps, as if she was unsure herself of approaching me. When we were inches apart she stopped, only for a second. Then she put her arms around me and pulled me into her.

I was frozen it seemed, until a slight tremor shook her frame and she spoke.

"I love you, Rei. So much…"

Her voice shoved all of her hurt and pain into me, sending me the words that she could never say aloud. How she wanted me to stay with her forever and keep her from hurting like this ever again.

Some things were just impossible to say.

Shaking off my surprise, I slid my weak arms around her form and squeezed slightly. It was all I could do. I hadn't hugged anyone in so long. I couldn't even remember hugging my boyfriends when I had them. Hugging was like giving yourself to someone, opening up your most guarded doors and letting them walk inside. It made me feel vulnerable, something that I usually tried to avoid.

But I knew that there would be no fear of being hurt here. She was just as damaged as I was, more or less. There was nothing that either of us could do to harm the other.

Jonathan slowly went to us and put his arms around us both, pulling us into his warm chest. He still wore his smile, but this one was pure with complete joy.

And with love.

It wasn't until I had gotten into my truck, waved goodbye, and pulled onto the road that I realized I hadn't said that I loved them too.

* * *

I wasn't even sure that I was capable of love. I knew what it was, of course. It was the deepest form of affection, of admiration and desire for another. I understood that they loved me, I was their daughter, but I hadn't been able to say it back. I did like them, they were good people. Nice.

But as much as it pained me to think about it, I didn't love them. Not yet.

I didn't really know them. Some think that love is required automatically when you are related, like it comes with sharing the same blood. But I didn't think that was the case. Love should never be **required**. Love just...happens. You can't really control it.

Maybe I should have explained that to them to hurt their feelings a little less. But I'm sure that Charlotte understood. When I spoke to her, it seemed as though she could understand everything like it was her own thought or word. At least she was easy to talk to.

I stole a glance over at the black guitar case sitting next to me in the passenger seat. The macaroons were sitting next to it. The birthday card they had given me was sitting in the glove box, waiting until it was safe to come out.

With a deep breath my hands tightened on the steering wheel. All of the things that I had suppressed during the time with them were now resurfacing to wreak havoc inside me. There was nothing I could do to stop the ache from filling up my chest and rising into my throat, making me want to scream. But of course, I couldn't, so I sat quietly and kept driving.

I was dying. It was like pure hell. Although, you'd think that I would be used to it by now, and I was. But sometimes it was stronger than others. More unrelenting.

This was one of those times when I wished that I could be someone else for a day, or for an hour. Just to be released from this. If only for a little while. Experience what it felt like to not be me.

But that would mean not having my clarity, my constant awareness of everything. I liked having it, but it was also a curse. It brought pain and agony to those who used it. Sometimes it was worth it, but other times it made you suffer for it.

Sudden anguish awoke inside me and grabbed my heart viciously, choking a weak noise from me. I cringed, hunching over a bit, my throat closing up a little. I knew what was coming and could do nothing to stop it. Reluctantly I pulled the car to a stop on the side of the desolate road and turned it off, dropping me in darkness. Sweet, familiar darkness.

My hands fell from the steering wheel. Curling my lip into a snarl, I swore as the tears began escaping from my eyes. I tried to wipe them away, to slap myself until I forgot what was causing this, but nothing would work, and I couldn't stop myself as I fell apart.

This was how it was for me. Either I let myself fall and cry, or I give in to my madness and let myself be taken over by the uncontrollable force. Usually I couldn't choose which one happened. I wouldn't want to choose either of them anyway. Both were unproductive, but at least with my insanity I could get the pain out somehow. Crying never did anything except make me feel tired. More so than usual.

"Fucking hell," I croaked, my throat messed up from sobbing.

I tried to look around. I wanted to get back on the road. But the tears blurred my vision so much that I couldn't really make out anything. I dug my fingers into my hair, pulling a bit, trying to distract myself. This was ridiculous.

I was only a half hour away from the house. Just thirty more minutes and I could collapse into the unfeeling world of sleep.

Sniffing heavily, I could finally see again, so I got back onto the road. Though the tears were still not letting go of me. They dripped down onto my lap and shirt, and I tried to wipe them before they did, but I couldn't catch all of them. It would stop a couple of times, and I thought it would be over, but then some more pain would crash into me and it would start again.

It only stopped when I was ten minutes away from the house. I was passing through town and I could focus on the neon signs, glinting at me in the night air. I tried taking a deep breath and it was very shaky from not breathing normally for the past 20 or so minutes. But, at least the agony finally went away. Now all I felt was a comforting numbness.

I hadn't cried like that since...I couldn't even recall the last time. My mind didn't like keeping those kinds of memories around. Only some painful ones were kept, ones that I forced myself to remember because they were useful to me.

I could breathe through my nose fully again, which I was grateful for as I pulled into the gravel driveway to the house. I felt completely drained of all life. There was no pain, no feeling, nothing. All I wanted to do was lay down, go to sleep and never wake up.

Parking the car where it belonged and getting out, I glanced at the dark house next to me with only one porch light on so that I could unlock the door without difficulty. I took my things out of the passenger side of the truck and carried them up to the front door. With my one free hand I managed to unlock the door and get inside.

It was so dark in the house that I almost wanted to just keep it that way, but I knew that I had to put my things away. So I dutifully turned all the lights on. The macaroons went into the kitchen, my boots by the door, and my birthday card on the table that used to be home to all of Tom's business papers.

Dragging the guitar case across the carpet with one hand, I sat down on the couch and didn't move for a few moments. The house was so quiet. So alone.

I then felt an uncontrollable urge that fought my need to sleep. I opened the guitar case and pulled out Charlotte's black guitar. It glinted at me, and I put it in my lap. While I was placing my fingers where they belonged on the frets, a coldness swept into the room, but I didn't look up. I didn't need to.

My eyes felt puffy and full of weariness as I went over the song in my head first, before my fingers started to pluck at the strings of the guitar.

A deep breath.

_"Sweet dreams are made of screams, those who've lost their minds won't disagree...you'll travel the world on his seven teeth, everybody's looking for someone…_

_ Oooohhh, let me gooo...let me gooo…"_

I closed my eyes then, letting my recently unburied pain resurface to fuel my voice.

_"Sweet dreams are made of screams, the corrupted ones just won't let you sleep...they'll crawl on your walls and spread their disease, every one of them is looking for someone…_

_ Aaaand they've found yooouuu, and they've fooound yoooouuu, aaaand they've fooound you, and they've found…._

_**you**__."_

Laughter then bubbled up through my stomach and out through my mouth, low and constant. I kept playing until the end of the song, chuckling quietly. I couldn't help but copy the song, even in my tired state.

Tired was a huge understatement. I was utterly exhausted from the inside out. I kept strumming for a few minutes after that, wanting to hear the tune some more. Then I put the guitar back into its case and locked it shut.

It was now time to sleep. Yes, sleep sounded nice.

Surprisingly Slenderman didn't say a word to me. He was sitting on the other side of the couch, that much I could tell, but he hadn't moved or done anything. At this moment I couldn't bring myself to think of anything to talk about with him. After shoving the guitar case away I sat straighter, turning to his white face with my swollen one.

He sat in a position that I hadn't seen him in before. He was slightly turned towards me, his arms resting on his knees, shoulders hunched a bit. He looked just as tired as I was. What had he done to become like that? Did he visit his long lost parents too?

The thought in my crazy mind made me start laughing. It was a weak sound, and I could feel my life fading from me with every second that it continued.

Slenderman didn't seem to mind. He didn't seem to do anything, but stare at me without giving anything away. He watched me until my hysterics died down and I could look at him again with my barely focusing eyes.

I was about to ask if he wanted any macaroons, but then he teleported us and I lost my ability to think for a few seconds. When I was coherent again, I couldn't see anything. Where were we? Then I regained feeling in my body and I realized that I was on my bed, with Slenderman's arms wrapped tightly around me, holding me to him. I was tucked just under his chin and could feel his long, thin arms squeezing me slightly.

Now I could read the emotions coming from him, flooding into me like sweet nectar through my veins. This wasn't supposed to happen...These weren't his. They couldn't be. He had never…

He began to pick at my consciousness gently, urging me to sleep. I fought against him and tried my best to stay awake, trying to convince myself that I was wrong. These feelings were fake. It was a mistake.

I wanted to ask him why he was doing this, but he tugged more at my mind and I couldn't find the will to speak.

He was holding me so tightly. As if he thought I would fall apart into millions of pieces never to be put together again. Wave after wave of a certain warmth crashed into me from him, filling me to the point that I thought I would melt into him.

This was incredibly surreal. Was I still awake?

He hadn't meant to do it, I could tell that he had been blocking his telepathic thoughts from reaching me. But nevertheless his honeysweet voice whispered into my mind and echoed as the darkness finally dragged me under.

_Stay…with me …forever…_

* * *

**Hi x3 Here's the youtube link to the awesome song in this chapter if you'd like to hear it, its by 'warlocktheripper' ... watch?v=6PlimM8S2RM ...This is a long chapter...I actually wrote so much today that I had to make it into two chapters, and that explains chapters 11 and this one. But it was worth it...I'm glad I got this done. Hopefully you are too :3 Until next time my friends  
**


	13. You Confuse Me

I was...confused, to say the least. By a lot of things. The main one being the creature called Slenderman who seemed to have a daily job of turning my brain inside out and making me question everything that I think. Or that I see.

And I **never **do that. Not if I can help it. But somehow he has an ability to slip under the doors that I keep shut deep inside me, walk around in the dark rooms of secrets and what makes me who I am. And I can't do anything to stop him. It made me feel so helpless, so unable to defend myself against it. I've never felt this way.

I didn't like it.

But...something inside me was not willing to fight any more. She had seemed to give up the endless struggle of trying to keep everyone (and every**thing**) out. It wasn't a difficult thing to do at all, you just become indifferent to absolutely everything and usually people don't prod at you that much. That's how it has always worked in the past.

But now...he didn't even have to _try_, and he had my insides in the palm of his hand. He didn't even have to use his powers to get that far. It was just how he **was** that allowed him to be able to crawl this far inside me.

Maybe I've just let my guard down. However, I couldn't recall ever doing that, not even when I felt myself about to shatter. The pieces never fit together again anyway.

Suddenly I regained my focus and realized that I had been standing in front of the kitchen island with a bowl of now soggy cereal in front of me. My hand was holding the spoon that was halfway dipped under a mini wheat. Looking down, I stared at the cereal floating in the white milk.

Things had become more intense than I ever thought they would be. I mean, just becoming Slenderman's slave for his amusement was bad enough, but now it had turned into something that should have been completely impossible. It was almost...incomprehendable.

I moved my fingers against the metal spoon. I felt tired. But this was nothing new. I'd been feeling tired for a very long time, and not always the physical kind. The kind that made you want to lay down or curl up in a corner somewhere and just stay there forever. Drowning in your sorrow, consumed by your pain.

Closing my eyes, I shoveled the rest of my cereal into my mouth and ate it. It was delicious, of course, but I couldn't find the will to let the taste distract me. After sipping the milk, I washed the bowl in the sink. I'd woken up alone, of course. Slenderman couldn't seem to want to face the aftereffects of his actions. That or he felt like killing me, which he left to do to some other person. Although I might not have minded being killed.

_Stay…_

Wincing, I shook my head to clear his voice out. His words had followed me into my slumber and had replayed over and over again in my dark realm of dreams. I didn't actually dream about anything, I only floated there while hearing him whisper to my mind. I had tried to wake up a few times just to escape it, but he'd had such a tight hold on my consciousness that I was unable to.

So instead I focused on the velvety quality of his voice. It always sounded so melodious to my ears. How could a creature such as him be so beautiful, and yet so unnatural and demonic?

Well, Lucifer was beautiful too.

For the rest of the morning I sat on the couch and listened to the radio, drinking some tea. I preferred this over watching tv or anything mindless like that. Plus I could sing along to the songs if I chose to, which was something that I actually enjoyed quite well. Sometimes it helped relieve the hurt that swells up in my chest, if only a little bit.

My eyes traveled to the closed door that was just before the stairs. The room that used to belong to Tom. I'd cleared his things out and given them to Marie of course, but I had barely been able to spend five minutes in there at a time. I felt that I had no right to be in it. I didn't have a right to be in his house, either, but there was something about his bedroom that seemed a little more...haunting.

Tom had probably been the only person in my life to have shown me real kindness. Unconditionally. He wasn't supposed to have even come into contact with me, we were so different. It was almost like we lived in separate worlds. In a way, we had.

Thinking about Tom made me uncomfortable. I gave a sigh, then finished my tea and got up from the couch. It was time for a walk in the woods.

Before I left I wrapped a few macaroons and stuck them into my jacket pocket. Maybe Slenderman likes cookies too. They weren't chocolate, but oh well.

The air was crisp and fresh as I breathed it in. I realized that I actually enjoyed walking to some extent, as it helped to clear my mind and distract me for a little bit. Although the distraction usually didn't last. My mind wouldn't allow me to escape it for large moments at a time.

Sometimes I wished that I was willing to take pills. They could silence my ever-raging storm of thoughts and make me less hyper-aware of everything around me. But, I couldn't find it in myself to let those things go. I loved it, but hated it as well. The weaker part of me always wanted to find some sort of relief. My stronger half always knew that I would regret it. So, here I am, a confliction in itself.

I could faintly hear the scurrying of small forest creatures on the forest floor. And the flapping of birds as they fled from the trees that I approached. Between the few waves of sounds, the forest was calmingly silent. It was ever so misleading.

Almost as if Slenderman didn't prowl in these trees on a regular basis to consume souls. It was a bit strange, yet somehow right sounding how an evil creature could live in a place so calm and beautiful. I could easily accept the image. But that was just me and my twisted mind, wanting to disrupt all things nice and peaceful.

Hey, it was my job.

Just as I was considering singing the Slender Man Song, with a macaroon in my mouth, I had to stop walking abruptly as the familiar white-faced creature appeared in front of me. I was almost still impressed by how he could not be there, then materialize in the blink of an eye. Not even that.

Hands stuffed in my jacket pocket, I looked up at him, still chewing my cookie. For a bit he didn't move or speak a word. Then he leaned down a little, his face closer to mine. From anyone else's perspective this would have looked like an attempt at intimidation. But I knew better.

"Hi," I said when he just kept looking at me. I managed to swallow the last of the cookie remains.

"You smell...sweet," was all he said.

_Is that a good thing? _Trying not to laugh and to ignore how his voice seemed to make my ears explode in pleasure, I pulled a macaroon from my pocket and held it up to him. "I got them from my parents."

He hesitated, then his own hand rose and took the cookie. Once again I was awed at the size difference between us, just the size of his hand compared to mine. And I wasn't very small. Just compared to him I was.

Instead of staring at him in amazement while he mysteriously ate the macaroon with his invisible mouth, I looked to the side of us to decide where to walk next.

"Why are you here?" Slenderman asked.

"I wanted to go for a walk. Maybe find a nice place to sit for a while."

At this, he seemed to delve into his thoughts. After a minute I felt my hand being taken by his and he was leading me further into the trees. His hand didn't squeeze mine or hold tightly, it was just the right amount of strength to keep mine in his. Almost...gentle. Of course I didn't doubt that he wouldn't hesitate to rip my arm off if I resisted.

On the way to our unknown destination I pulled out another cookie to nibble on. My parents were good at cooking. I made a mental note of that.

"Where are you taking me? And why didn't we teleport?" I questioned. It was almost fun to break the calm silence in the air.

"A place. And because I didn't feel like it."

"...You just wanted to hold my hand."

"That is also correct. But I would have done that whether we teleported or not. Do you have a problem with this?"

I swallowed more macaroon deliciousness and looked around us. "I didn't say that. But I also didn't consent to this."

"I've heard those words before."

I grinned a bit at his tone. No more words were spoken for a while after that, and we walked for quite a while before I noticed the scenery change. We stepped into a large circle of some sort of meadow, which was strange to me, seeing this in the middle of the woods.

The grass was lush and there were flowers scattered all over the area. It wasn't a very big space, but just big enough to feel roomy. It was probably the size of a pond. As I looked about us, Slenderman pulled me forward more so that we walked to the middle of the clearing.

Well, this place did beat sitting in the thick tree-shrouded forest. I was glad that the sun was hiding behind the thick overcast sky again, so I didn't have to deal with the blinding light or heat. I preferred the weather to be like this.

We sat across from each other on the ground, both in the same position. I had my legs folded Indian style and he had decided to copy me. I stared at him, a bit hunched over, and he mimicked me, his smile evident.

Then I remembered that I had a question or two to ask. I glanced around us, looking for something, but couldn't find what I needed.

"What is it?" Slenderman asked.

I reached out. "Give me your hand."

Almost instantly he obliged. I turned his white hand palm up, then traced a circle on his skin with my finger, then put an 'x' through it.

"Does that symbol mean anything to you?" I queried, now looking up at him. "I've heard a lot of different things about it. I'm just curious."

He seemed to be grinning. "What have you heard?"

"I've heard that it wards you off, calls to you in some way, that it's how you watch people, and a lot of other things."

In the moment of silence that followed, I found myself looking down at his hand that was so much larger than mine. I actually needed both my hands to hold it. As I kept staring at his flawless palm, suddenly the symbol that I'd traced appeared on his skin in red. It seemed to glow a little, almost like a magic incantation, then it disappeared.

He closed his hand into a fist and pulled it back. I looked up at him in wonderment.

Then I realized. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

He shook his head. "It is not important."

Hm. I replayed the scene in my mind. The symbol apparently did have some meaning. It had to, there was obviously a connection. I made a mental note to try and find out in the future.

I pulled the plastic bag of macaroons from my pocket and set them on the space of grass between us. After I took another one from it, Slenderman did the same.

"Do you..._like_ me?"

I froze for a few seconds. Did he really just ask that? I forced myself to look up at him, slowly chewing a now funny tasting cookie. "What kind of question is that?"

He said nothing. I waited for words, but there were none from him.

I decided to try to answer. "I'm not sure that it's possible for me to _like _anyone. But I can stand being around you, unlike most other people. If that answer makes sense."

"It does."

Was he...pleased about that or something?

I decided to ignore it. Instead I focused on a patch of deep purple flowers that were growing right next to me. My hand found one and pulled it out. It was tiny, and had four round little petals. And yet the color was so vibrant, getting darker towards the center of it.

With my other hand I smoothed my fingers over the small petals. They were soft and delicate to the touch.

When I ripped one of them off and let it drop, I realized that Slenderman was still watching me, as always, so I met his gaze. Then I took a few moments to look at the rest of him. It was odd how he seemed to have some sort of heartbeat, but his chest never rose or fell. He didn't breathe. I knew that he could, but he didn't seem to need to perform the action.

It was even stranger how I could just be sitting here with him in the middle of the woods and talk about random things, having casual conversation. All that I'd heard about him was that he was a cold, cruel paranormal entity. Built and intent on killing.

No one ever said that it was possible for him to somehow decide not to kill me, and then develop some sort of a liking to me.

Did I feel the same? What exactly did he think about me?

I knew that he didn't like what he felt. I didn't like it either, and we had tried to escape it. It just wasn't supposed to happen. But, his dislike seemed to simmer down over time. I couldn't help but wonder why he had given up, though.

I wasn't so thrilled about our..._relationship_ either. I'm still not completely sure that I'm accepting of such a thing. I didn't exactly **hate **Slenderman, but I didn't know how I felt towards him. Of course I was attracted to him, but it wasn't a normal feeling. At least it didn't feel normal to me. I wasn't used to being attracted to anything.

It was impossible not to be captivated by him. It might just be one of his abilities, being able to make humans infatuated with him, but I wasn't too concerned about it. This could all just be some sort of plan to make me think that he isn't going to kill me, to get inside my mind and destroy me, but I didn't care.

I wasn't being passive. I just knew that there was no sense in fighting it if it were to happen.

"You're doing it again."

His voice brought me back to reality. Shaking off my thoughts, I refocused on him with slight confusion. "What?"

"Staring at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Your eyes reflect something that I do not understand. It is as if you do not consider me as what I am."

It took me a moment to decode his interesting way of speech. "Oh, you mean how I admire your features?"

He seemed to give an unpleasant shudder. "Yes, that."

"Do you really not get it?"

At his silence, I gave a sigh. I wasn't wanting to have this conversation with him, but oh well. It was bound to happen.

"For an unknown reason, I find you attractive in some strange way," I explained. "Do you get it now?"

He sounded utterly confused. "How is that possible? I'm supposed to be frightening to humans. I've always seen the repulsion and fear in their eyes."

I chuckled a bit and pulled another petal from the flower in my hand. "You just don't scare me. Yes, you look strange, unnatural, but nowhere near ugly. If anything, you're actually very beautiful."

At this moment I wanted to faceplant in the grass and somehow open a fissure in the ground to swallow me into eternal darkness. Just so I could forget how stupid I'd sounded. And how Slenderman was probably enjoying every second of it.

I'm sure he could see my face screwing up in a wince at myself. But I couldn't find the will to look him in the face any more.

"You are a very _different _human, Rei."

Now I physically cringed a bit. "Yes, I know."

I suddenly then got a very interesting thought. I forced myself to look up, trying not to think about my earlier stupidity. "What do humans look like to you?"

He broke off a piece of the macaroon in his hand and brought it to his seemingly invisible mouth. "I see things the same way you do. If you are asking about their appearances, I find most humans very unpleasant to look at. Especially the overweight ones."

At this I had to laugh a bit. But I had some more cookie chunks in my mouth, so I had to stifle it and try my best not to choke.

"Although…" At his continued words, I calmed myself enough to keep listening.

"I do not consider you the same. You are in fact more pleasant in appearance to me."

Now I _really _laughed. Almost hysterically. I never worried about being seen as ugly or beautiful. Those things hadn't been on my list of priorities. "How?"

_He_ didn't seem to think it was as funny. "In appearance, you are flawless."

_Yeah fucking right! _Nothing about me was flawless. But I couldn't say this to him as I erupted into more laughter, unable to contain myself. My stomach started to hurt.

"That is...a load of crap," I finally choked out. There were tears in my eyes at this point. I took to yanking off another petal of the poor flower in my fingers.

"It is the truth," Slenderman replied, a verbal shrug in his voice. He wasn't about to abort because of my outburst.

Now I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn't mad, just amused. "What, now are you going to tell me that I have a great personality? Spare me the bullshit, please."

"I happen to like your characteristics." Still not giving up.

I shook my head at him. "You're even stranger than I am. That being said by the one who likes to hang out with Slenderman."

Of course **he **would like my characteristics. He was a psychopathic killer. It seemed almost obvious that I be paired with him. There's also the fact that I seem to have a separate concept of everything from everyone else. I'm not saying that it's a good thing, either. Look where it got me.

Not that I'm complaining of course. This was actually sort of...nice in a way. Besides hearing him say things about me that I wasn't physically or mentally able to accept.

As I pulled off the last petal from the flower, I flinched, because Slenderman was teleporting me. Whenever he does it, my body feels like it's freefalling and all my thoughts crash together at once. It wasn't a bad experience, it just shakes me up inside.

When I could see straight, I didn't see Slenderman, so i was confused. But then I regained my sense of touch and realized that he was behind me. And when I say that, I mean that I was sitting in his lap, with him behind me, my back against his long torso. His legs were still folded, and I was somehow fitted into the triangular space, still in my position as well. His legs were so long that I could fit perfectly where I was without being squished in.

A bit puzzled, I carefully leaned forward a bit and glanced over my shoulder. I then saw that his back was leaned against a tree and his arms were loosely at his sides, his hands on the ground. He looked completely comfortable.

And I couldn't deny that I was as well.

His white face seemed to stare at me, waiting for a reaction of some sort. I faced forward again and considered trying to get up. He didn't really look like he would try to stop me, but he was Slenderman. I couldn't really trust him to not do something.

But, he wasn't really _bothering_ me exactly.

Because of my shift, my back was no longer against his chest, but I was slightly hunched over. However my spine was still in contact with him in my position. I decided after a moment that this didn't bother me either.

I noticed that the bag of macaroons that I'd brought was also empty. Before I could reach out to it, a breeze picked up and carried it into the forest as if it were a tumbleweed. Alrighty then.

Since Slenderman didn't seem to be talkative anymore, I took to playing with various things that were in front of me. I took a few flowers and began detatching the stems from the tops, then tying the stems together at the ends to make a sort of string. With those I slowly made a circle and placed it on a patch of dirt that was untouched by the grass.

When I made the stems into an x and put them through the circle, Slenderman gave a chuckle at me, which made my back tingle a bit.

A few minutes after creating more strange things with the plants, I found myself quietly singing a song.

_"Lie awake in bed at night, and think about your life, do you want to be different?"_

As I remembered more of the song, I became slightly louder.

_"Try to let go of the truth, the battles of your youth, 'cause this is just a game...it's a beautiful liiiieeee...it's a perfect deniiiaaaal...such a beautiful lie to believe in, so beautiful, beautiful, let me speak…"_

I continued the song even to the screaming point, where I felt my body stiffening as I did so. But it felt good.

While I was still going, I almost jumped when a hand softly touched the back of my head and the fingers slowly went down through my hair. Sudden waves of a strong tingling went crashing through me. I never knew that letting someone touch your hair could give you this feeling.

With his hand slowly going through the strands, over and over again, I finished the song and almost wanted to close my eyes. My whole body felt as if it was going numb.

Part of me had the thought of telling him to stop, or trying to get away, but honestly I just didn't want to fight anymore. I was so tired. But I wouldn't let my eyes close, even as it felt like I was falling asleep right there.

Sometimes I wished that I could close my eyes and just shut out everything. Just for a moment. But...it never works. Everything always follows me, no matter what I do. And if I let go of reality for one second, I might miss something. I want to experience everything that I can. Whether it be good, or painful and brutal. I couldn't allow myself to slip away.

However there was nothing I could do when Slenderman decided to take away the last strand of mental strength that I was using to stay awake. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to have him force me to relax. At least I had no control over it, so I couldn't be mad at myself for letting go.

Involuntarily I dozed off. In the last second of awareness I could feel myself being wrapped in long, cool arms and held tightly.

* * *

**Hi :3 I apologize if this chapter is complete shit, but I'm very tired and just wanted to get it done. I also have a lot more interesting things planned for the future, so this is just sort of a filler time period i suppose. Hopefully you don't hate me xD And the song in this chapter is A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds To Mars. Awesome music.  
**


	14. Collision

I woke with a start at the sound of an owl hooting loudly. It was pitch black and i blinked a few times, trying to focus. I was still in the forest, that much i could tell. But Slenderman was gone, and I was leaned not against him but on a tree instead.

Did he really leave me here? What was the point of that?

Carefully I stood up. I shouldn't have let myself fall asleep. I kept my hand on the tree behind me and tried to look around. I could barely make out the shapes of the trees in front of me. There was no moon tonight, of course. I had to rely on my very limited night vision.

What the hell was I supposed to do? Try to find my way back to the house? This was stupid.

The owl hooted again. It was the only sound to split the silence in the night air. I took a step forward and hoped that I wouldn't trip on anything. By now, I should have been afraid or at least concerned for my safety. But that was the last thing on my mind.

I was annoyed and confused at why I had been left here. Maybe he left to go hunting or something and hadnt returned yet. It was a possibility, but he would have taken me back to the house if that were the case. Right?

He could have just left me here to die. That idea seemed much more likely. He should have gotten bored of me by now, one would think. He could sit and watch as I was eaten by a pack of angry wolves or something. Wonderful thoughts.

However all of my ideas were deserted when a cold limb then shoved me from behind. After stumbling and regaining my balance, I turned, unable to see any clear shapes. I did catch a flash of movement, as if he was moving to the side of my vision. When I reached out, the shadow disappeared completely.

"What is the point of this?" I demanded aloud.

The response was a dark chuckling that echoed all around me. It sounded like he was everywhere.

"If you manage to touch me, I'll take you back," he replied. "Oh, and take your time. We have _all _night."

As he was speaking I tried to concentrate on what direction his voice was coming from. I decided on my left, so I stumbled in that direction with my hands out.

"So, we're playing a game?" I said, trying to get him to talk more so I could find him quicker.

"You could call it that. I also find it rather entertaining to see you wandering around so helpless like this."

I glared into the dark. "I'm not helpless."

His voice seemed to switch over to somewhere on my right. Just as I was getting close, of course. How did he expect me to win this if he kept moving around?

"You cannot see. You would be completely blind and defenseless if I were to attack you."

"Well duh, you're Slenderman. I would be defenseless whether I could see or not."

I felt like an impaired goose just wandering around. It was very irritating not being able to move without thinking that I would trip. Or smack into a tree.

Something moved in front of me. I tried to snatch at it, but then he disappeared and his laughter filled my ears almost overwhelmingly.

"Stop teleporting!" I snarled into the dark. Then I muttered under my breath. "Asshole."

"I heard that."

Suddenly the ground rushed up to meet my face. I could barely cover my face with my arms before I hit the ground, and his tendril released my legs. As it retracted I tried to roll and reach for his limb on the ground, but it vanished by the time I got on my knees and had my hand out.

So, basically this continued for a very long time, probably for an hour at least. Not exactly how I wanted to spend the night. If he was just going to let me win anytime soon, he didn't show it. I didn't expect him to, either.

By now I wasn't even angry anymore. I was tired, but I was still trying as much as I could. It actually wasn't that bad. Minus getting tripped/shoved/running into things on my own, it was kind of exhilerating to have to concentrate this much on using my instincts.

Hearing a noise, I froze. I spotted something ahead of me and stuck my hands out. However my stomach sank when my fingers touched the rough bark of a tree. I sighed.

But then there came another sound behind me. Not too hopeful, I turned around, eyes straining to see anything. I stumbled forward with my hand out, my other at my side.

I only took one step forward and my fingertips found the fabric of a suit. A suit I knew well. I looked up more for his white face, which was visible when he moved closer and made me back up in surprise. Before I bumped against a tree,his tendrils wrapped around my waist to absorb the impact. Still puzzled, I refocused on his blank face.

It was above mine, me only coming up to his tall shoulders. I realized that my hand was still laying against his chest. It had flattened when he cornered me, me halfheartedly trying to hold him back. It looked so small on his torso.

"Does this mean that I win?" I asked quietly.

He didn't reply. If the answer was yes, it soon became clear that we weren't going back to the house right then. But I didn't know what he was doing, so I just waited for him to do something.

I was then flooded with a warm pull that made my skin prickle all over. I didn't know whether he was doing it intentionally or not, but at this point it didn't matter. I was expecting him to move, or do something to torture me further, but he only stood there silently. Watching me with his expressionless face.

Although he was standing very close to me for only seeming to want to observe me. He might have been debating on whether or not to end my pitiful existance, for all I know. I wouldn't have minded honestly if he chose to do so.

While I was standing there feeling exhausted and hopelessly drowning in his nearly magnetic attraction, I couldn't help but lift my other hand that had been at my side until now, and put it next to the other one on his chest. He gave no visible reaction to this. I wasn't looking for one anyway. I was just doing whatever my curiosity compelled me to do.

And, of course, it somehow led me to be suddenly very interested in his face. I think that this was partially because I was I felt half asleep and he was creating his usual desire in me. Nonetheless, my hands somehow traveled up to the top of his suit. Almost to his shoulders.

I hadn't noticed how close his face actually was until I stared at my hands as they moved up further. When they left his suit I glanced at him, expecting him to disappear or kill me. Or do something. I had never initiated contact before with him.

But he never moved. It was very strange how he could seem like a statue sometimes. He could be so unnaturally still that you'd think he wasn't alive.

Overtaken by my wondering thoughts and need stirring inside me, I reached up to his porcelain face. Before I touched his skin I hesitated. I wasn't afraid, I was just unsure of how he would react. And of what he was thinking about.

My fingertips grazed his jawline. Dropping all of my thoughts to abort, I let my hands cup the sides of his face. If he was surprised, or anything at all, he showed no sign of it.

His skin was cold. But not much colder than mine, me having been wandering around the forest at an unknown time at night. But what amazed me a bit was how soft it felt. It was a kind of texture that I had never felt before. There was nothing else like it. I couldn't resist myself from running my fingers across it softly, admiring how interesting and different it was.

Then I started to think about things. Like how the hell I'd ever managed to attract the attention of something like him. And how I manage to get myself into _any _of the situations that seem to happen so often. Maybe I'm just cursed.

But, this wasn't such a bad thing. Or maybe it should be, but I couldn't really consider it as such. I hadn't really planned to be living right now. I'd wanted to have my life ended by the very being who was somehow...drawn to me?

I wasn't sure what to think of his so-called addiction to me. It looked to be real, but for all I know he could be pretending. Just toying with me until he got bored and ended my miserable existance. I had no clear way to see the truth. This bothered me a little, but I couldn't do anything about it.

All I could do was deal with it as it came. Try not to lose what little sanity I had left.

Although I might have already lost it. I mean, what kind of person looks at a paranormal killer and thinks that he's beautiful? Isn't afraid? Just me I guess. Even as I questioned myself I couldn't help but look at him and see something that was flawless.

So perfect, yet so unlike anything else. Maybe that was the exact reason for his beauty.

I was startled when his hand reached up and struck into the tree beside me. It was just a few inches away from my shoulder, and I was confused then when I heard the sound of wood creaking. Looking to the side a bit I could see his fingers embedded into the tree trunk. They were squeezing the wood tightly and twisting it, as if the material were made of dough.

Then I felt some sort of anger pulsing from him. I was considering removing my hands, but as soon as the thought popped into my mind he suddenly pressed himself against me as if to halt any movement from me. I was deeply confused.

The sound of the wood being crushed continued. I focused on his face, trying to see what was going on with him. Had I pissed him off?

"Why are you angry?" I whispered. The emotions pouring into me from him were making me fidget a little. It was very distracting.

Instead of speaking, he made a noise like a sigh, and a thought projected into my mind from him.

_Shouldn't._

__"Shouldn't what?"

A pause. _This._

__"You, or me? Both of us are kind of doing things that they shouldn't."

At this he gave a light chuckle. I tried to stop my mouth from twitching up at the corners, so the result was a lopsided grin. I was sure that I looked very strange doing this. But he didn't seem to care, and some of his anger faded to a calmer state.

I deemed the situation stable again, then moved my hands a bit more over his unique face. It was as if he had looked like a human at one point, but his prominent features got smashed down and shrank.

I was a bit uncomfortable. It had been a **very **long time since I had been this close to anyone, and this position just made it worse. It wasn't that I didn't like it, it was just all unfamiliar to me.

Out of my undeniable curiosity I let one hand's fingers wander to where his mouth would be. Just as I was about to run my finger over the targeted spot, heavy static noise drowned out any other sound. I flinched, a headache forming strongly. When I managed to open my eyes again, I could barely see Slenderman's form before I blacked out.

* * *

_Fucking hell…_

This was my first thought upon awakening. My body felt as if I had been tossed around like a ragdoll, but it was also strangely numb, like I was sedated.

He did _not_ have to knock me out. He could have just taken me home and told me to go to bed, and I would have said okay, I'll see you later. But _noooo_, he just needed to be all Slender-y and show off his teleportation abilities.

With my weak arms I shoved my blankets off and fought to sit up. Sunlight was peeking through my bedroom window, partially blocked by the curtains. It was eleven in the afternoon I realized with a sigh. He had kept me asleep for a long time.

The phone was ringing downstairs. Stumbling out of bed, I made my way to the hall. Thankfully I could walk correctly. Although I felt pretty weak. When was the last time I ate? I could only remember having some cereal the day before. I should probably have some more food before I pass out. Again.

The call went to voicemail just as I got down the stairs. I walked towards the phone and listened to the caller.

_"Hello, this is Marie. I wanted to thank you so much for helping me with Tom's things. We're going back home today. It was nice meeting you. I hope to see you again!"_

Well. I could kind of tell that Marie wasn't very thrilled about Tom giving away his house and savings to a girl that no one knew. One that he picked up off the street. Who didn't deserve any of it.

Oh well.

The kitchen was nearly empty of anything that I could really eat. I concluded with a sigh that I needed to go into town and get some groceries. Interacting with people was one of the things on my list of what I definately didn't want to do today. But it was either than or I starve. That didn't sound too bad, actually. Then Slenderman wouldn't have to be so frustrated with me and I wouldn't be losing my mind even more.

I got dressed and headed out. In the truck I nibbled on an apple that I had managed to find in the kitchen. It was another dreary-looking day, with a gray sky and cold atmosphere. Always perfect.

I put the core of the apple in a plastic bag and tied the top of it. Almost in town.

A small headache still remained from the night. Slenderman had acted as if he'd wanted to hurt me, but held himself back. But why? In my opinion he should have just killed me right there. If I bothered him so much, why wouldn't he?

Oh, right. He liked watching me suffer through the thing called life. The reminder of the fact that I was hopelessly trapped here by him made me feel even more doomed. I couldn't escape him. Unless I somehow found a way to keep him from showing up to stop me from ending my life myself.

That didn't seem very likely to happen.

Halted at a stop sign, I glanced both ways to make sure that no cars were coming. I eased out onto the four-way intersection.

The next thing I knew, there was a horribly deafening sound of metal crashing into metal, and the truck was shoved harshly to the side. I couldn't process anything as my world then flipped upside down, and I hit my head on something. My vision faded.

Pain seared through me. With a groan I fully regained my consciousness. At first I didn't know where I was, everything looked weird. I was staring up at the front seat of the truck as if it were my ceiling. When I moved my arm, a shooting flash of agony went into me. It felt like it was dislocated.

The truck was upside down. I was laying on the roof of the vehicle, my head near the driver's side window. The glass was heavily cracked.

I then realized that some idiot had ran a stop sign and crashed right into the side of the truck. Somehow I had been flipped over. This was fucking wonderful. Now Tom's truck was probably destroyed beyond repair.

Pissed, I reached up with my good hand and slammed my fist through the window behind my head. When the glass broke off and tinkled onto the ground, I grabbed the outside of the truck door and began to pull my weak body out. This took way too long for my liking. Maybe it was just because I was wanting to murder the idiot who ran into me as soon as possible.

The road pavement caught on my clothes and ripped them a little, only annoying me more as I lifted a foot to the car door and shove myself fully out. The smell of burnt rubber and smoke burning my throat was intense.

I rolled onto my side and coughed. This caused my ribs to ache even more, probably bruised. Nothing seemed to be broken though. I wonder how I managed that.

I could distantly hear people shouting, probably calling 911 or some crap like that. I hadn't been out cold for very long it seemed. Shouldn't the idiot driver had come over here by now? Their car couldn't have taken much damage. If they had driven away or something, I was going to seriously maim them.

Somehow I used my uninjured arm to get myself on my feet. My knees buckled and I almost collapsed, but I held tightly onto the overturned truck and corrected my balance. When I took a step forward to go around the smoking vehicle, a figure suddenly came around it and almost ran into me. When they backed up in surprise, I wished that the crash had killed me. Or put me in a nice long coma. Either would have been nice.

As I held my injured arm to my side, trying to lessen the pain, I was forced to look into the eyes of a boy that I'd known well. That I never thought I would have to face again.

"Rei?"

His familiar green eyes looked full of confusion and surprise as he looked me over. He wore his usual black jeans with a black and white striped t-shirt, with matching converse sneakers. He even still had his same hairstyle. Messy and sticking out all over the place. Not because he styled it like that, but because it could never lay flat. It reflected the excited look that his eyes always seemed to hold.

"Why the hell did you run that stop sign, you idiot?" I demanded. I was in no mood or condition to be polite. Even to him.

He stuttered. "Uh, I-I wasn't paying attention...are you okay? Did you get hurt?"

At this I gave a loud cold laugh. I was a bit hysterical, probably from all my rage and being tossed around inside my truck like a ragdoll. "You made my car flip over! How would I not be hurt?"

"I-I'm sorry, here, let's get you to the hospital."

When he reached for me, I immediately backed away. At his puzzled expression I shook my head, for a lot of reasons. "I don't need to go to the hospital, Jack."

"But your arm! You could be bleeding somewhere, or about to go into shock-"

A loud siren interrupted him, and an ambulance skidded to a halt on the other side of the truck, paramedics hopping out. Without asking for permission, Jack took hold of my good arm and pulled me over to them before I could stop him. Not like I had the strength anyway.

"Stop it!" I snapped at him just before he let go. One of the EMT's sat me down on the back area of their car and shone a light in my eyes.

I ignored their stupid questions about whether I could hear them or not and glowered at Jack who stood to the side looking at me. He didn't seem to be hurt at all, and the look in his eyes angered me even more than this whole situation.

I did let the EMT'S put my arm back in place, though. I wouldn't have been able to do it myself. When they did it I tried my hardest not to scream from the fire that spread through my body. Then they kept wanting to check my vitals and crap.

When I yelled at the paramedics enough that they backed off, I was allowed to get up without them insisting for me to answer their questions. I went over to Jack and punched his arm. He only winced and rubbed it, not looking mad or surprised at all.

"How could you be so stupid?" I demanded.

The police were starting to block off the crash site. Some nosy citizens were being nudged back behind police tape, insisting on knowing what happened. Obviously a crash, morons.

"I just didn't pay attention. I was zoning out a little," Jack replied without an ounce of negativity towards me. Even as I looked like I would tear his eyes out at any second.

My attention was pulled to the officers who were inspecting my truck. Some had lit flares and placed them in the road to warn other cars to turn around. I could still see Jack watching me through the corner of my eye. Not bothering to face him, I growled. "Stop looking at me like that."

"I'm sorry about your car, Rei," he only said. His tone said that he was apologizing for more, but I wasn't about to point it out.

I felt like complete shit. My entire body ached heavily, and my shoulder was throbbing with fire. All I wanted to do was curl up on my bed and sleep, never waking up. That might be a good plan. "I'm going to murder you."

A smile shone through his voice. "You've said that before. You never follow through with it."

"Shut up."

For the next couple hours we answered questions from the officers, about who did what and who needs to be taken downtown. I wasn't going to press charges. Yes, I was pissed, but I didn't want to waste my time prosecuting Jack. If it had been anyone else, I might have considered it. But not him.

After everything was cleared, I had the issue of not having a ride home. I still hadn't gone to the market either. Just fucking great. While I stood glaring at my truck being taken away, in the vain hope that it could be repaired, Jack came next to me with his hands in his pockets. "I'm driving you home."

I met his eyes with a bit of laughter. "It's funny how you think that's going to happen." I had concluded that my means of getting back to the house were to wander around the forest until Slenderman found me. Then he would either kill me or take me back, which would both be acceptable at this point. Though I would prefer the first one the most.

"The police said that you have to let me take you or they take you to the hospital. Your choice."

Shit. He could just be lying. But when I glanced over at the officers, they were whispering to each other and staring at me. Again I say, wonderful.

"I have to go to the store first for some groceries," I told Jack.

This is going to be fine. I don't have to talk to him, just sit there and ignore everything. Focus on the white-hot pain flowing through my veins. This was what I convinced myself when we got into his car, which was completely fine except for the front being slightly dented. Slightly. While my truck over there was probably completely useless now.

He had a big SUV of course. The car even smelled the same, which I tried not to think about as I buckled in with a wince. Being in a car accident hurt like a bitch.

Thankfully he didn't speak on the way to the market. He just kept his eyes forward and drove, going to the closest store. When I got out and went inside, I was confused when he followed me in. But because I didn't want to converse with him, I didn't ask. I just walked quickly to grab a basket and go down the isles to get what I needed.

When I lastly pulled a box of frosted mini wheats from the shelf, I heard him snicker. I set the cereal in my basket and looked over at him. "What?"

"I kind of expected you to go for these," he responded with a grin.

I only rolled my eyes and made my way to the checkout. I was walking fast and almost hoping that he would have to run to catch up with me, but he had kept my pace through the entire store. Curse his longer legs.

While I handed my money to the cashier, she noticed Jack next to me and froze for a second. I thought that her jaw would drop to the floor. Her cheeks got pink and she kept staring at him without noticing that I'd paid her. Jack was very attractive to most people. He had a naturally good-looking face and structure, and was used to getting stared at a lot. He never tried, either. He couldn't help looking the way he did.

If we had still been together, I would be threatening to punch this girl's lights out if she kept looking at him like that. But now I was only impatient and wanting to go home. I cleared my throat at her.

She snapped back to reality and made a flustered noise. "Oh, sorry! Have a nice day!"

I grabbed my bags with my one hand and left the store. Just a little more suffering and I would be able to curl up under my blankets, forgetting everything. Fade into the world of unconsciousness.

I set my groceries at my feet in the car. I had gotten cereal, milk, snacks, and a chocolate bar for a certain visitor that I seemed to have so often. I wasn't being nice. I was actually hoping that he would find the gesture ridiculous and choke me to death to put at end to my pitiful life. Oh, my master plans. They will work one day.

* * *

**Sorry about leaving off kinda randomely, but the next chapter is the continuation. I didn't want to post a super long chapter so I just divided up what I had written. Hope you enjoy :3**


	15. Descending

I was happily enjoying my wandering imagination, all the ways I could die, when Jack broke the silence.

"Where do you live?"

I realized that he had just pulled out of the parking lot. "Remember old man Tom? His house."

He glanced at me with an incredulous look. "Wait, what? Didn't he die? How are you living there?"

"He invited me to stay there shortly before he died. Then I learned that he had somehow left the place to me." Thinking about Tom dying made my stomach sink. Just when I had been so content in my thoughts.

"Strange. I have to go on the highway, right?"

"Yeah."

Then we lapsed into the quiet air once more.

I'd had..._relationships_ in the past. In high school I met a couple of guys who were decent enough for me to stand being around, but only one had lasted the longest. The others had always wanted something that I wouldn't give them. Couldn't. But one had never asked, not even tried to instigate. Not once.

His name was Jack. Me and him had been the ideal couple, you could say, similar wardrobe and look. And equal in having a dislike of everyone around us. We had met one day when I was up in my tree in the park. He had run by in a blur, then began to frantically climb up the tree. When he was almost up to where I sat, he noticed me and told me to shush.

A group of large, brutish jocks had then run by underneath the tree, completely oblivious to us hiding up in the tree. They looked around, trying to see their target.

Keeping quiet, I'd grabbed his shirt sleeve and tugged on it, trying to signal for him to climb up higher so he wouldn't be seen. Nodding, he went up and sat next to me. There we waited as the football players wandered around for a little bit before giving up and leaving the park. Then I turned to the unknown boy and gave him a questioning look.

He had been panting hard. It looked like they had already punched him a couple times. "Sorry. I had to run here from the school. Douchebags wouldn't leave me alone." His bright, energetic eyes looked me over. "You go to my school, don't you?"

"Yes," I'd replied. At this time I was not used to interacting with other people at all. Unless it was to snap at snooty bitches, or give teachers the drone answers they asked for. I was inexperienced when it came to having a decent conversation.

He didn't seem to be like everyone else I'd met. There was something blatantly different about him, something that halted my thoughts to just treat him as I do every other person who talks to me.

"Are you trying to see into my soul or something? If so, I don't think I have one, so you're out of luck," he said with a small laugh.

I stopped analyzing him and shook my head. Sometimes I would forgot when I was staring at people.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Rei."

"That's a cool name. I'm Jack."

And then began our descent into each other's worlds. I learned that his parents were divorced, and his mom was a workaholic, not noticing her own son most of the time. Although I could tell how neglected he was just by observing him. It was the way he'd carried himself, how he always preferred to spend as much time with me as he could instead of going to his own house.

We didn't have a normal relationship. It seems like I never could have one of those. We didn't hold hands in public, and one wouldn't be able to tell that we were together just by looking at us. This of course caused many girls to think that he was free game, and I had to scare them away. Fun times.

He was so much like me. But he was also very different. He had a deep rooted **want** to always hold me and show me that he cared, which I couldn't always accept. Sometimes it hurt too much. It still hurts.

I'd tried to keep him happy. We bought each other things once in a while, just random occasions, but nothing dramatic. What had separated him so much from the others was that he seemed to understand that I couldn't get close to people. And he didn't try to push me. For anything. He could always see if I was uncomfortable, and he always fixed the problem.

He would have been perfect. If I hadn't closed him out. He eventually got tired of being pushed out, and I was tired of hurting him. We decided that it would be best to go our separate ways. I'd known that we wouldn't last from the very beginning. But sometimes you just do things to have experience, to know what it was like. Instead of never knowing.

I didn't regret anything. I couldn't help being the way I was, and he knew that. He probably had someone better than me to call his own anyway. He could have anyone that he wanted.

"Rei?" Jack's voice brought me back to the inside of the car. We were still on the road. Hopefully almost there.

At the tentative sound of his voice, I immediately knew where this conversation would go. I couldn't stop the sigh that escaped from me. I didn't want to respond. Didn't want to talk about things like this.

Pointedly I stared out the window in the hope that he would get the clue and just let it go. But he ignored my silence of course. He knew me too damn well.

"How have you been lately?"

A laugh came from me. It sounded unfeeling, dead. Like usual.

How had I been lately? What an amusing question. Well, Jack, I am currently a slave to the infamous killer known as the Slender Man for his amusement. And half the time he likes to torture me in various ways, while the rest of the time he's actually decent to talk to.

Wouldn't **that** be funny to tell him, just to see the look on his face. Oh, something is definitely wrong with me.

"You don't have to talk to me. That's fine. But I know you, and something's wrong. If you need someone, I'm here," Jack continued. "I never stopped caring."

Oh, Jack. Everything is wrong with me. You should have realized that by now.

I kept myself facing the window. Unfortunately I could see his reflection on the glass, so I had to look forward instead. Just keep looking at the road.

I couldn't really say that I was surprised about him being concerned. But I wasn't about to let him in again. He didn't need to be hurt all over again, and I didn't need him now. I wasn't the same anyway. If he did happen to peek inside, he would find only the dead remains of who I used to be. And a laughing monster with blood on its claws.

The monster that I'd become.

I almost wished that I could assure him that I was fine, or respond in some way, but I couldn't find the will to. I wouldn't even know what to say.

Thankfully we came to the house just a few moments later. At the end of the long driveway, I got out, almost expecting to see Slenderman somewhere. He had become a presence that frequently appeared near me.

When I was unlocking the door, Jack suddenly stepped out of the car and jogged up to me. I turned back to him with a questioning look.

He looked very unsure of himself. But he tried anyway. "I um...again, I'm really sorry about your truck...I'll pay for the repairs and stuff...you sure you don't need to go to the hospital or something?"

I nodded. He was acting in a way that I would have called cute a long time ago. Now all that he did only seemed like scenes from a movie that I had seen a dozen times, and the parts never got to me anymore. They were just empty memories. He was running his fingers through his hair, messing it up even more, a nervous habit.

I never got nervous like he did. I wasn't one to worry constantly about things like he seemed to do so often.

His green eyes then adopted a clouded look. "If you ever need anything, I can give you whatever you need. Just so you know. All you have to do is ask."

I felt myself sigh again. This time it was quiet, almost unheard. "Goodbye, Jack."

Nodding in defeat, he raised a hand to give me a small wave and then got back into his car. I went inside quickly, not waiting for him to drive away. I just needed to lay down as soon as possible. Not have to think about ex's worrying about me.

As I set the grocery bags down on the kitchen island and was about to put them away, my ears filled with a loud noise that I knew all too well. I turned around and was met with a very tall and annoyed Slenderman pushing me back against the counter. He wasn't touching me, but he was so close that I had to press myself back in order to give myself an inch of space.

This of course caused my spine and everything else to erupt in pain. I fought back against my cringing and looked up at his white face. I could see his tentacles moving about behind him. He did not look pleased.

However when he spoke, his voice sounded very calm and collected. Almost dangerous in its lack of negative emotion. "Who was that?"

I sounded very strained because of the feeling cousing through me. "That was Jack. He decided to crash into my truck while I was on my way to the market. He drove me back here because my car was incapacitated."

"He seemed like he knew you."

It was kind of weird how he ignored the part about me getting into an accident. Hm. "Yes, we used to know each other from high school." I wasn't about to tell him that we used to be together. There was no real point in that, it didn't matter now.

A tendril curled up around my stomach. But it didn't tighten and cause me pain like I thought it would. "You used to have a relationship with him."

...Wait. Did he just read my thoughts?

At my suspicious look, Slenderman chuckled a bit. "I cannot read all of your thoughts. Only some."

Well. Awesome. "Why does it matter that he's my ex?"

The limb around my ribs tightened. I shifted a bit in discomfort, to which I got no reaction.

"Is he still...interested in you?"

Now I realized what was happening. With a small laugh I couldn't help but crack a wicked smile. "No. I'm pretty sure he has another girlfriend by now. Are you jealous or something?"

He didn't reply. Instead he kept squeezing me slightly, only enough to cause me to squirm around. Other than that he did nothing else.

I started laughing then. Even as my ribs protested against it, I couldn't stop. A supernatural being who stole the souls from children was _jealous_? Of a human boy? This couldn't be happening.

"What is so amusing?"

I covered my mouth with my hand and shook my head. "You can't possibly be doing this. Please tell me you're messing with me."

"I do not know what you are referring to."

I managed to calm myself down a bit and fold my arms, trying to keep eye contact without giggling. "I mean how you're acting like you're threatened by Jack. Or worried about him somehow. You're Slenderman, you don't have anything to be concerned about."

This didn't seem to convince him. He kept quiet again and just kept looking down at me with irritation seeping into the air around us.

So I fell back into my laughter, ignoring how painful it was. This was too funny. What made it even more amusing was the fact that he didn't realize what was going on. Didn't understand his emotions or what I was talking about.

"I bought you a chocolate bar, if that makes you feel any better," I said between borderline hysteric laughs.

Slenderman only stared at me for a moment longer, then released me and stepped back. He then turned and seemed to stalk into the livingroom without another word. Still unable to fully control myself, I dug around in the bag behind me for the candy bar and found it, then followed him into the room.

But when I went in, he wasn't there. I glanced around the empty room in slight puzzlement.

Then I was teleported to my room. Except, it wasn't just normally into the room like I would have thought. I was literally dropped onto my bed, landing on my back, which was a bit unpleasant-feeling. As soon as I was on the bed Slenderman appeared above me. His hands and knees were on either side of me, and his tendrils were snaking up to grip my limbs as if to restrain me.

Which they then did, holding me tightly to my mattress. But I wasn't planning on trying to escape, so I think this was just to cause me more misery. But nothing more could make me feel any worse than I already did.

At least, that's what I thought until my head exploded in a massive headache. I honestly thought that my ears would start bleeding and then my brain would come out as nothing more than mush. My body started to writhe a bit as a reflex to try and escape the unbearable pain.

When it ceased, I had to force myself to breathe correctly. The car crash was nothing compared to this.

_Mine._

__I couldn't help but half-snap back at him with barely open eyes, "Yes, I know."

I expected another splitting migrane to come because of my response. But instead no more blinding pain came. The tentacles slowly started loosening themselves. I looked up at his white face, and his anger seemed to be going away.

I lay there breathing a bit heavily, both from recovering and from my prior injuries. I hadn't been too concerned with checking that everything was okay. For all I know I could be internally bleeding.

As I thought about this, one of Slenderman's hands left its spot and began to lift my shirt a bit. I moved a bit, trying to lift my arms against him, but his limbs still held me enough so that I couldn't fight. Not like I'd stand a chance anyway.

I flinched when his cold hand began to heal my aching ribcage. Not entirely because I was sore, but because he should be doing the opposite of everything he did. Or had been doing recently. I gazed at him, trying to see whether he was pretending or not. I wouldn't be surprised if he had been faking it this whole time just to destroy me from the inside out.

"Why won't you kill me?..." I asked softly.

He had been looking down at my stomach, so his face shifted a bit to meet my eyes. At first I thought that he just wouldn't respond. It wouldn't be abnormal for him to do.

_Can't._

__I shook my head. "Yes, you can. You could crush me with your bare hands. Make my brain stop functioning with your power, and so many other things. So why won't you?"

Again he gave the same answer.

I didn't understand what he meant. He was more than able to do it, and he'd almost followed through with it a few times. What did he mean when he said that he can't?

Oh, dammit.

I got it now. No matter how much I wished that I didn't. He could physically kill me, but he couldn't mentally bring himself to do it. For whatever reason that I could never guess. But why wasn't he able to just end me? I was nothing important. All I did was cause chaos.

I'd noticed that the reason for him keeping me around had evolved from its original purpose to a deeper, more drastic reason, whether he was pretending or not. I wasn't just here for his amusement anymore, even though he still claimed it. The change was clearly visible.

"Why do you look so troubled?" his angelic voice asked, bringing me back to reality.

Before I could answer, his hand on my stomach moved just a little, his fingers softly stroking my skin. It tickled a bit, but was also strangely soothing like a massage. I had to swallow a bit before speaking. "A lot of reasons."

I was so heavily distracted by his touch that I almost zoned out while he talked again. "Care to explain?"

I couldn't think correctly while he was doing that. It was making me want to giggle and fall asleep at the same time. But what put me in an even bigger state of unrest was everything that he seemed to do to me. What he was currently doing was something that I would think was meant to comfort me. Or make me feel nice, some shit like that.

He wasn't supposed to be doing anything like this. He was supposed to be torturing me until I begged for death, which of course was a wish he wouldn't grant. He wasn't doing what he should, and I hated the thought that he was actually developing some sort of..._feeling_ for me. I couldn't completely find the right words to describe what was happening.

Suddenly the overwhelming feeling of warmth spreading through me became too much for me to handle. I started to fight it.

I winced when the deep depression and despair welled up inside me to combat the effect he was giving me. I didn't want to, but I couldn't lay there any longer. I wasn't supposed to feel this way. He wasn't supposed to be this way to me.

I felt the impulse to curl in on myself, and almost involuntarily I pulled on my restraints, trying to get out of his hold to shrink into a ball, tighter and tighter until I shrank from existence. However I could barely move, his tendrils not relenting their hold. So I basically just squirmed around with no results. But I couldn't stop.

I didn't feel his hand leave my ribs, not until it then softly took place on my cheek, making me look up at his pure white face through tormented eyes. I bet that all the emotions swirling inside of me were flooding out through my skin. It sure felt like it.

_Stop…_

__But I couldn't. I had to escape this, this...blissful **hell**. I didn't know what would become of me if I didn't. He just didn't understand. That or he did, and he just wanted to keep causing me this confusion and misery. Either way, I couldn't deal with it.

When I was thrashing around(or attempting to) too much, my body began to ache with a burning soreness that made me stop moving because it was so painful. The crash really did hurt me. I hadn't cared that much about it, I'd been too preoccupied with my ruined truck and having to deal with my ex.

I let myself collapse, breathing a bit heavily.

Against my will Slenderman then lifted his hand to place it back on my midsection. This time, when he began to heal me, it was more intense than I'd ever felt, seeming to spread through my bones and veins to alight every part of me with a cool fire.

"You're wasting your time," I managed to say through my daze.

He gave a small grunt. "Why is that?"

"I'm not worth keeping alive like this. I'm just a weak, pathetic human that you should have killed a long time ago. There's no point in keeping me around. I'm just...nothing."

At this he chuckled a bit, though I didn't see what was so funny. "If you were what you say, I would have taken your life without the slightest hesitation. But, look where we are."

I rolled my eyes and looked away from him to mutter under my breath."You're bullshitting me…"

His face seemed to gaze at me in a thoughtful manner, though I could sense his amusement. For a while he said nothing. "Believe what you want, Rei. You'll see the truth eventually. You always do."

Then he was abruptly gone. Well, not gone completely, just off of me and standing near the door to my room. I sat up, feeling a lot less shitty, and wondered what he was doing. His back was to me, and he was looking down at something on the floor in the doorway. After a second his tall form bent down and picked something up.

I realized with a grin that it was the chocolate bar I'd bought for him. It had gotten dropped when he teleported me so suddenly into my room.

"You're welcome," I said like a smartass. I then cracked a smile.

He looked at me over his shoulder, stuffing both hands in his pockets, the candy bar being tucked away with them. Then he was gone.

I felt my diaphragm shudder with laughter. Getting out of bed, I decided that some frosted mini wheats would be nice. It looked like I would be stuck at home for a while before I was told whether or not my truck would survive. I would really hate to have to buy another car. That would take a huge amount of the money that Tom left me.

After having my cereal and listening to the radio a bit, I let myself collapse onto the couch. I felt extremely and unnaturally calm for some reason. Part of me was paranoid because of this, but the other was just not giving a crap. Enjoy it while it lasts before you fall back into a spiral of heart-crushing agony.

Distantly I was thinking about all the events that had occurred. I hadn't changed, that I knew. That would most likely never happen. I was stuck this way seemingly forever. Not that I wanted to change, but I didn't exactly like being how I was. Oh well.

I stretched out on the couch. Then I folded my arms loosely across my stomach.

Slenderman was something that confused me greatly. He would be a complete sadistic ass half the time, then the other half he would be making me question my reality. Or what I thought to be real. I couldn't tell with him, whether he was faking everything or not. That was still a huge possibility.

What annoyed me was the fact that I just couldn't tell. He wasn't a human, I couldn't see into his eyes and sense his lies. He was just impervious to me. This was very dangerous, because I was basically defenseless against his mind games. Literal or figurative.

And I couldn't escape from him. That sucked, yes, but at the same time it wasn't concerning. For the moment it didn't seem like he wanted to destroy me. He could choose to end me at any time he wanted, I was just waiting for it to happen. It would eventually.

I don't think I'm being _cynical_, as you might call it. I just know when things are doomed to happen. The saying "too good to be true" was basically the description of all the 'good' things that happened in my life. I'm not saying that being involved with Slenderman was a good or bad thing. It was impossible to decide, really.

But, for the moment, I wasn't going through hell, so I allowed myself to say that it was bearable. Maybe I am a cynic. But hey, just look at all the other things in my life that shriveled up and died. I was like a walking disease, infecting everything around me. And they usually never knew what was happening to them until it was too late.

Maybe that's my purpose. To infect the world. It would certainly do them some good, to have their eyes ripped open so they could see the blinding truth. They probably wouldn't survive though. Only I seemed to be able to handle it.

That didn't make me strong. It only makes me a key to open the gateway to the ugly truth.

Oh, my rambling thoughts. Sometimes it's enjoyable to be like this.

Only sometimes.

* * *

**Hello :3 i would like to give you all hugs for putting up with me and my slow updating (^.^) but I'm trying to work on more stuff, so hopefully I can update soon this week. Tell me what you think about my chapters, please! Seriously they make my day xD I sit here and smile like an idiot at my computer screen xD Leave a review if you want to make a fool outta me!**


	16. The Angel So Dark

"Morning, Rei."

Heart jumping harshly out of my chest, my whole body gave a jerk away from the voice and sent me tumbling to the floor. What the hell?

I shakily untangled myself from my blankets and sat up, looking around in bewilderment. My eyes landed on the tall figure dressed in a suit who was standing on the other side of the bed. If he had any facial features, he would have been grinning profusely.

"Was that neccesary?" I asked, getting up and tossing the blankets back on the bed. because of my heart attack and adrenaline coursing through me, I was a bit wobbly. Excellent way to start my day.

"For my entertainment, yes," Slenderman replied.

I sat back down on my bed and rubbed my face irritably. It was my fault that I had to deal with things like this. All because I had to run into the forest that day. I kind of screwed myself over.

"I believe that you may want to answer the door," Slenderman stated.

As I gave him a look of confusion, the doorbell rang.

Well. With a sigh I headed downstairs. Hopefully it was Jared, come to tell me the fate of my truck. I'd been stuck at the house for the past week without my vehicle. I was out of food again, unable to get to town to get more. I wasn't about to ask anyone for help, of course. That required dealing with people. There wasn't any chance of me asking a certain Slenderman, either. He probably wouldn't anyway.

I already had a depressing feeling in my gut when I opened the door to see Jared's apologetic face. His eyes were almost begging me to not be upset. I had to hold back a laugh at his concern.

"Hello," he began. He took in my attire of shorts and a tank top. "Did I wake you?"

I knew that my hair was a mess, and I probably looked ready to pass out, which I was, but honestly I didn't care. "No, I was already up. How is the truck?"

He fiddled with his jacket pockets. "Surprisingly it didn't take very much damage/ Aside from the dents and alignment being messed up, everything else seemed fine."

"Then what's the bad news?"

"The um...the engine gave out. It won't start. The cost to replace it is more than the truck is worth."

Crap. That's just great. Breathing out a sigh, I shifted my weight.

"If you want, I can talk to my friend at the dealership and get you a discount for a car. He's got some nice ones."

I shook my head. "Not right now. Can you keep Tom's truck safe somewhere until I know what I want to do with it?"

"Yeah, of course."

I then said goodbye and began to shut the door, but Jared anxiously told me to wait.

"If you need a ride anywhere, you can call me. It doesn't matter what time it is."

What the hell is with everyone wanting to help me all of a sudden? I don't like it.

"No, that's okay. I have a...friend who can help me," I said, trying not to visibly cringe when I said the word 'friend'. I wasn't even being serious, I was just making up excuses so he'd go away. I needed to think about what to do next.

Jared nodded nonetheless. "Alright. If you need anything else just call."

With that he left and I closed the door. People need to stop being so _helpful_. It's not something that I'm used to seeing, especially directed at me. Maybe the apocalypse is coming soon. Yep, that would explain it.

As soon as Jared's car drove away, I felt a presence behind me. I turned around with a yawn. Slenderman actually hadn't been around me all week. I didn't complain, but I was more or less bored without him to talk to. I'd cleaned, reorganized things, even watched tv. Sometimes I would just sit and dwell in my wandering thoughts. If they didn't awaken the demons inside me, that is.

"You did not accept his offer of transportation," Slenderman said.

I looked up at his white face. He seemed to be extra tall today. Maybe it was just because I hadn't seen him for a while. "I don't need his help."

"Mm."

When we lapsed into silence I decided that some tea would be nice. I moved around him and went into the kitchen, where I pulled a tea bag from the cupboard. What was I going to do? I didn't have a car, or food, and I needed more household items. If I hadn't been in that accident with Jack, I could have gotten all that I needed.

Maybe I should make Jack drive me around and just waste his gas money. He did destroy my car. That might be a suitable punishment, however I was not in any mood to interact with people, much less my ex. Not to mention that Slenderman would throw a fit. Or just torture me without ending my life like he should. Dammit.

It didn't make sense to me how I could annoy him so, to the point of being murderous, but he still wouldn't kill me. I know he wants me to suffer, but still. He's suffering himself by keeping me around. I only cause pain, he should have realized that by now.

Then again, he isn't human. Maybe I don't have the same effect on him as I do with people. I might have just found someone who can put up with my mind. This might not be a bad thing, but somehow I still felt that I was killing us both.

As I closed the cupboard above me, a wave of dizziness crashed into me, followed by several black spots in my vision. This wasn't Slenderman's doing.

My ears began to ring like I was underwater. Great, I was about to black out. This was not what I needed. Shakily I folded my arms on the counter and put my head down on them, trying to calm myself down and not collapse. How long had it been since I last ate?

I'd gone longer without food of course. But that didn't mean that I wasn't affected by not having anything in my system. I'd just gotten used to being able to eat regularly and then I ran out of things.

I should probably find some way to get to the grocery store. But in order to do that, I would have to talk to people. That would be very bothersome.

My knees wobbled and I fought to keep myself up. Eventually however my arms started to shake and they gave out. I ungracefully landed on my ass on the floor, half awake. Irritably I tossed the tea bag in my fingers onto the counter above me. Then my hands fell to my sides and I pushed my back up against the island so that I would sit upright.

I got my breathing under control and sat there, hands in my lap. I think I'll just starve here. That sounds easier than getting help.

Just as my vision began getting back to normal and I could hear correctly, A figure loomed over me, blocking out the light above us. Before I could do anything a black tendril snaked around my waist and tugged upward as if signaling me to get up. In protest I refrained from even moving an inch.

Of course he then pulled me up anyway. But he didn't set me on my feet, he placed me on the kitchen island. I wanted to say that it would make me at eye level with him, but he still towered over me by quite a bit. My feet were dangling above the floor.

He peered down at me, his tendril still having a firm hold on my midsection.

When he kept staring at me I snapped at him. "What?"

"You look ill."

I glared at his black tie that was getting hard to see. "Yeah, well…"

"You ran out of your food supplies two days ago. You need to get some more, don't you?"

My eyes narrowed. "Have you been spying on me?"

If anything, he seemed to get bigger, even as he towered over me by a couple feet. "I do not spy."

"Right. You just watch me when I'm unaware of it."

"Yes."

I snorted. "So why do you ask about my stock of food?"

"You need more. Since you won't accept assistance from anyone who offers it to you, I will take you where you need to go."

...What?

At my completely puzzled look, he gave a small sigh and continued. "Go change your attire. I am taking you to the town." He retracted his appendage and allowed me to hop off of the counter. Not too steadily I might add.

Was this really happening? "No! Since when do you offer to **help** me? Or care about my well-being?"

Suddenly then he leaned down, his featureless face mere inches from mine. I could feel the power radiating from him and making my skin prickle. His voice became laced with a dangerous tone. "If you do not wish to change, I'll take you there while you are still wearing **that**."

To emphasize his point his tendrils began climbing up my bare legs, making me fight back a shiver at the cool contact. Eventually they made their way around my waist and to my arms. But they didn't stop there, they then curled around my neck and squeezed in a threatening way.

I glared into his nonexistant eyes. I'd never had anyone enforce their assistance upon me, and I wasn't very fond of it. But I knew that Slenderman meant what he'd said, so I complied.

One reluctant outfit change later, I was deeply contemplating just jumping out my two story window. But then Slenderman came in at that moment to chase away my plans. Not bothering to ask if I was ready or not, he teleported us to a wooded area. I was confused for a second until I noticed the park just ahead.

I took one more glance at Slenderman over my shoulder, then entered the nearly deserted park. It made sense to drop me off here.

_One hour._

_Bite me._

_Do not tempt me to do something that you are not willing to accept._

After that, I shut my mind-mouth. But...could he even perform the action of biting me? He didn't seem to have a mouth. Although he could somehow eat food...I should stop thinking about that. My mind might wander too much on that topic. I seemed to think too much about a lot of things involving him and his numerous mysteries.

What if Slenderman was able to read my thoughts right now? Well damn...maybe I should control my thoughts more.

I chuckled. I'm way too paranoid.

I wasn't going to be able to carry all the groceries I wanted to without having a vehicle. Oh well. That just meant that I would be needing Slenderman to take me to down more often.

Screw that.

In the grocery store I tried to get things that would last a while but that I could carry myself. This didn't work very well, so I just said forget it and got what I needed. I could deal with it. I also got a backpack to help me carry everything. I was not about to have to ask for **help** anytime soon. I say again, screw that.

I hadn't even asked for it. I tried to say no to him, but there really wasn't a successful way to say no to a being such as him. Figures that I'd be stuck with someone like him. We actually don't mind spending time together, but we also can't stand each other.

Nostalgia swept over me as I walked back through town. I had walked through these streets every day when I'd lived on them. I had hated them for so many reasons. Mainly because of the people that constantly walked on them, whether it be the cokeheads or the rich people who always turned their noses up at you. As if they were so much better.

I wasn't saying that I was a better person, because truthfully I wasn't. But I still hated the way that they always looked at other people. I just hated arrogance in general. There's nothing wrong with having self-confidence, but a little goes a long way.

I glanced into the alleyways as I passed them, seeing a variety of different things. Sometimes just trash bags, or piles of street debris. Then there were the people. People passed out or even dead with needles in their arms, drunken bums, or people like me. Sort of. It was usually ones that were younger or older. Girls my age would often sell their bodies to whoever was willing just so that they could have a bed to sleep on.

Disgusting.

Thankfully I made it back to the park without running into any trouble. I carefully scanned the park from the edge of the trees before I headed into them. A bystander seeing me walk into the forest inhabited by Slenderman wouldn't be good, whatever their reaction. It was best to be careful.

I walked through the trees at a normal pace, bags of groceries in both hands, as well as in my backpack. I was so weighted down that if I encountered anyone who wanted to harm me, I would probably be killed before I could even get a hand free. Wonderful.

Of course as I thought this, I spotted movement just ahead of me. Quickly I moved behind a tree. But the tree didn't completely shield me from view, so my bags and backpack were probably very visible.

Alright...hiding might not be the best plan. I peeked around the tree to see the figures clearly. It was a group of men, five of them. I couldn't see their features very well, but they were a range of sizes, the largest one in the front of their herd. They seemed to be talking about something, though I couldn't hear what.

I swiftly moved to my right and started walking quickly though the forest. I didn't want to go all the way back into town. Besides, if I was far enough into the trees, Slenderman would come get me before anything happened.

Right?

I was trying to calm my racing heart and focus on getting far enough so that I could then progress further when I was far enough from the men. They were probably just on a walk or something. Not worth getting paranoid over.

However, all these thoughts vanished when I glanced back over my shoulder and saw that the group were walking my direction now, instead of just going straight to the park. Oh, this was just wonderful.

Now that I knew they were following me, I turned to head deeper into the woods. There would be a greater chance of running into Slenderman so I wouldn't have to deal with these idiots. Not saying that Slenderman would save my ass, but he might decide to take us back to the house and not interact with the people at all.

I tried to walk as fast as I could, but carrying all the bags made it so that I couldn't move as fast as I would have liked. I refrained from looking back and concentrated on listening to how close their footsteps were. Thankfully they didn't seem to be getting closer. Just a little longer until I would be far enough into the forest.

Hopefully.

The sound of a gun cocking made my blood freeze for a second. My feet stopped moving as if they were glued down.

"Hey, lady, how about you turn around?"

Trying not to sigh in aggravation, I slowly moved myself so that I was facing the group. They all had their handguns out and were trained on me. They were slowly moving forward I noticed, closer to me with every second.

I could now see their features. The 'leader' wore dark camouflage pants with combat boots, and a ripped dark brown vest with a gray shirt underneath. Military wannabe. His face was stubbly and his green eyes were grinning at me.

The other men had outfits similar to his, but with different colors or accessories. It looked like they were some sort of gang. I'd seen a lot of them that were dressed more strangely than this.

Keeping myself still, I held the leader's gaze as his group surrounded me in a circle. They weren't very close, but it did nothing to soothe the fact that I felt like a caged animal.

"Set your bags down," the leader commanded. He didn't sound dangerous, but strangely calm, even as his lips twitched as if he was fighting back the urge to smile.

I placed my groceries down on either side of me. Lastly I removed my backpack and stood straight once more, now feeling lighter. However my agility couldn't help me in this situation. What did they want, anyway?

The leader nodded to one of his posse. I didn't take my eyes away from his pale green ones as one of the guys came forward to move my bags away from me. I heard another go to help him, and then they searched through everything.

_Slenderman, if you're planning to show up anytime soon, now would be a great time. They're touching my things._

To my surprise there was actually a dark chuckle echoing through my mind. _They have deadly weapons pointed at you, and you're worried about your supplies?_

"Where were you heading to, miss?" the green-eyed wannabe asked me rather politely.

The way his voice was supposed to be soothing made me repulsed. He was trying to charm me somehow, but I could see malice hidden in his eyes.

"She's just got food and typical household items, John," one of the goons going through my stuff reported to their leader. "Is there a house out here that you can think of?"

John glanced at his boys then back at me. He then smiled, his fingers repositioning themselves on his gun. "There ain't no houses out here for miles. She might be a proxy or something. Getting things for that tall son of a bitch."

Yes. That's why I have groceries, because Slenderman totally needs those.

This thought caused a bubble of laughter to travel up my diaphragm, and I twitched a bit, trying not to burst out into laughter. That wouldn't help me very much.

But where the hell was Slenderman? He obviously knew that I was in this situation, so why wasn't he coming out to take care of these idiots? Maybe he just wants to watch me get my ass kicked. That seemed more likely than him coming to my rescue.

"What the hell are you snickering about?" John questioned me.

"Dude, maybe we should just take the stuff and go," another member of the group spoke up. "I don't want to run into that monster. If she's one of his helpers, he could be coming here any second to kill us."

"Shut up, Darrel. This is the reason we come into these woods, remember?" John glared at his group for a second. Then he faced me again with suspicion overtaking his features. "Answer me, girl. If you don't, I'll shoot you down right here."

"Who the hell are you? The official Slenderman hunter? I feel **so **safe knowing that a prick like you is my brave defender," I couldn't help but saying with a taunting grin.

A couple of his group members snickered. John scowled at me.

I wasn't expecting it when my shoulder suddenly exploded in a scorching fire, and my ears rang with the deafening sound of a gunshot. My body fell back form the impact, and I hit the ground, pain suddenly hitting me at an impossible scale. I'd never been shot before, so I didn't understand what was happening until I turned my head and saw blood seeping through my jacket over my arm.

As I was lying there in agony, I managed to look up and glare daggers at the leader who was now standing at my side and looking down at me.

"What the hell, John?! What if she's just an innocent civilian?" someone demanded. The person then rushed over and reached out to me, but froze when John's gun locked on him.

"Something isn't right about her," John snarled at him. While he continued to yell at his group, I moved onto my side, flinching at the feeling of my shoulder being on fire. So this is what it felt like to be shot. With my good arm I tried weakly to push myself up.

It didn't seem like Slenderman was going to show up. Asshole.

I ignored the bickering going on around me and managed to sit up. Every time my arm moved it sent new waves of fresh pain through me, and I could feel more warm liquid seeping through my clothes. This was not good.

All at once a blur of things seemed to flash by. I somehow pulled my gun out and shot the first person I saw, and they fell with a yelp, then my vision faded. When I regained my consciousness I was laying on my side, and I could see an impossibly tall figure surrounded by very small men in comparison. They were all seemingly shooting at him, and his body would not move from the impact.

I could then hear very clearly, and I flinched as the loud sound of all the guns going off at once filled my ears.

"FUCKING KILL IT!"

"OH MY GOD!"

I was suddenly on my feet then, about ten feet away from the group, watching as Slenderman began to tear the unfortunate men apart. His black tentacles were all swarming about and stabbing through the fragile bodies as if they were sacks of water. Some however were having their limbs torn off one by one, then skewered onto a tree branch and left to bleed out. The sound of bones crunching and bursting of internal organs was a constant theme to the scene

I couldn't take my eyes away from the image in front of me. So, of course, I didn't see that one of the men had come up behind me with his gun. As soon as he cocked it, I spun and hit it out of his hand, but before I could point my own at him he tackled me.

My shoulder flared up once more, rendering my limbs almost numb. I feebly tried to grab hold of the idiot as he swung at me. All I could do was knee him where it hurts and headbutt him, managing to fling him off of me. I was looking for my gun when the man was suddenly whisked from my vision by a black tendril curling around his throat.

Well, it seemed that Slenderman had it under control.

I got to my feet once more. Why couldn't I feel my arm? Oh, right…how much blood had I lost?

The tree next to me was abruptly closer, and I realized that I was half-collapsed against it. I felt like I was only half alive. My shoulder was burning, and my vision kept going out of focus. Not to mention how I could literally feel my entire body tremoring as if I had a fever.

I could barely hear the men shrieking in torment anymore as I looked around for my groceries. They were a few feet away from me, some of them spilled out onto the ground. With a grunt I pushed myself away from the tree and stumbled forward. All I wanted to do was get my fucking groceries and go home, then have a nice cup of tea. Or maybe some frosted mini wheats. But nooo, I had to run into a pack of trigger-happy morons.

_Rei, stop moving._

_Shut up._

The last man who was screaming was then silenced. At first I didn't bother to look, but I wanted to see if it was over, so I turned on my unsteady legs.

There was blood everywhere. Absolutely everywhere, covering every nearby tree and leaf on the forest floor. It was as if a large pool of it had been simply dumped. And then there was the organs and bits and pieces of what the victims used to be. I couldn't even see any clear body parts in the carnage, like they had been put through a food processor.

Strangely though, Slenderman had no blood on him whatsoever. His suit and white skin was completely clean. He had kept his distance from the men while he ripped them to pieces, and now he was looking over at me as if he hadn't just been in a vicious frenzy. He hadn't even been in his hunting form, and he had done this.

The image of him blurred. I blinked, but it didn't help at all. I lifted a heavy leg and took one step towards him. He somehow looked so beautiful there, untouched by the bloody mess around him.

Then I passed out.

* * *

**Hello people. I'm sorry if this chapter is complete crap, I haven't been feeling exactly uh...sane recently, but I tried to write more just to get something done. It felt nice. I shall update again either tonight or tomorrow, whenever I start writing more. Please tell me what you think of this chapter :3 and don't be afraid to kill me with your words or critique. Any feedback I get helps me a lot. **


	17. Well, Shit

I wasn't quite sure if I was still alive. I mean, usually one can tell, right? But, I couldn't feel my body. I tried to move, to do anything, but I got no result, as if I didn't have a body. This was very strange.

_Rei._

That's **his** voice…Well, if I can hear him, then that must mean I'm still alive. But why can't I move? There was no sound. No taste, no sight, just a big blank nothing. I didn't understand. I was just my mind, floating without my body. Maybe this was what it was like to be in a comatose state. I had to say, it sucked.

_Rei._

Memories began to trickle back to me at a steady pace. I had gone grocery shopping, then I was walking back to the forest. Oh yes, I then ran into a military wannabe gang. One member of which decided to shoot me.

Taking a bullet to the shoulder wasn't a pleasant experience. At least it wasn't anywhere near my heart, I rememered it being around my right collarbone. Though exactly where it hit I couldn't tell. The pain was so immense, it spread everywhere on the side of my body.

The numbness that seemed to be blanketing me suddenly started to dissipate. Eagerly I tried once more to struggle, to regain feeling.

_Rei…_

My body still wouldn't obey me. Though, I was slowly coming back into myself, and I was aware of a few things. It felt satisfying to be able to sense again. But I was not prepared when I was bombarded with a sharp feeling in my arm that made me want to scream and get away from the sensation. But of course, I couldn't, so I had to wait until it faded to a bearable degree.

Cool ice replaced the fire that was burning around my wound. I recognized it as Slenderman's healing power, and I relaxed a little as it soothed my agony.

I still couldn't open my eyes. Not that I could tell that I still had them, but I was gradually regaining feeling in my body. It was very irritating having to wait like this and not know what the hell was going on.

Something was touching my lips. My mouth was slightly ajar, and whatever was pressed against it felt incredibly soft. Air pushed forcibly into me then, chasing away more of the numbness, and I could focus on the feeling of my lungs expanding.

Wait. I'd felt this before. I wasn't breathing on my own, the air flowing into me was strangely fresh and almost cold. It was Slenderman, just like he'd done on that day when he had almost killed me, but then saved me. Great, he was saving me again. I wonder when he will get tired of having to put up with me all the time.

It wasn't right for him to be trying so hard with me. I was nothing compared to him, I was as brittle as ice. All humans were to him. I was so weak, and yet he kept rushing to my side when my fragility got the better of me. What made him want to keep me alive so badly?

_Rei._

Yes, I hear you. It's a little hard to respond, not being completely in control of my body yet. I can barely feel that I'm here right now. Speaking of, where exactly am I? I'm laying down on something...probably a bed...It's cold. If I could move, I'd be shivering uncontrollably.

I could breathe again without assistance. The mouth was gone from mine, allowing air to pass through my lips as my chest rose and fell in a steady pattern. It felt as if I hadn't been breathing for years.

Something moved across my cheek, almost like a caress, then it moved my hair away from my face. His other hand was currently continuing its duty of sending a wonderful current of soft power into my body and eliminating most of the discomfort. I knew that it would still be painful though, so I didn't plan to try and move my arm anytime soon.

_Rei._

I tried to speak. My voice wouldn't work, so all I could do was have a deep intake of breath and hope that he could understand that I could hear him. Of course, he probably knew that, being able to get inside my mind and all that. Even so, why did he keep saying my name?

Each breath I took gave me more feeling in return. Carefully, I moved my fingers, the ones connected to the side of me that wasn't injured. I almost wanted to smile in accomplishment as they twitched in response. I concentrated then on curling them inward to test how much more I could move.

The amount of his power going into me suddenly increased, as if he were trying to kickstart me into waking up fully. This actually did help a lot. Encouraged by being able to feel everything now, I forced my eyes open, having to blink several times in order to focus. I felt drained, exhausted. My body was so weak.

I knew that after I completely woke up, the real pain would come. I could feel the foreboding sensation waiting for the blissful numbness to go away so that it could take over and cripple me. It would not be fun.

_Rei._

His face. His white, expressionless face staring down at me. A sight that had become so familiar to me caused a large amount of comfort just seeing the entity who had become what no one else could. Not necessarily happiness, just relaxation at recognizing him and who he was.

I kept attempting to talk, so say something, but the only thing that came out was an inaudible noise that could only be described as my vocal cords failing to work. As soon as I did this, he somehow saw it and put a single finger to his lips to shush me. Then he laid his hand over my eyes and cut off my vision.

Against my will I fell back into the sea of unconsciousness.

* * *

A flash of pain jerked me out of my sleep. I had somehow moved my arm, and now it was burning slightly. It was so uncomfortable that I forced myself to sit up. This surprised me, as the last time I was awake, I could barely move my fingers.

I used my good arm to keep myself upright. I didn't want anything else to touch my shoulder or anything near it to make the pain worse. I was on some sort of bed, but it definately wasn't my own. I felt around me in the dark to find the edge of the bed and moved my legs over it. I was still wearing my boots, and they made an audible sound when they landed on the wooden floor underneath me.

Where the hell was I?

I squinted, trying to see anything in this unknown location. It smelled woody and old, but also held another scent. Blood. Probably mine of course. Faintly I could see the basic outline of the room, only because there were cracks in the walls that were letting some light in from the outside. It looked like an old cabin of some sort.

It was either dawn or dusk. I couldn't tell. Either way, I wasn't about to be sleeping any more.

The room consisted of a small couch, a fireplace across from it, and a cabinet on the wall opposite from me. Besides those things, the room was empty. There were two doors, one on the other side of the couch and one on the wall next to it. Maybe a bathroom, or a closet.

Since I could now see, I wanted to know where the hell I was. With some effort, I managed to push myself to my feet, almost falling back onto the bed. After I regained my balance I noticed that I had numerous blankets around me. I would have taken them off to ease any pressure on my shoulder, but it was very cold in the room. I could see the puffs of my breath in front of my face.

Slowly, I made my way over to the cabinet on the wall, a bit annoyed at how heavy my feet felt. At least I could stand. When I got to it, I lifted my hand and opened the doors. There was nothing in it. Except for a white piece of paper.

I peered at the paper. To my surprise it had a drawing on it, in black pen. The Operator Symbol. Why would this be here?

Before I could pick it up to inspect it further, the atmosphere around me seemed to shift. I didn't bother to close the cabinet before I turned around to face him.

"You should be sleeping," Slenderman stated. He sounded very quiet, resigned.

Just to make sure my voice would actually work, I cleared my throat a bit. "What time is it?" I was a bit croaky. Like I hadn't spoken for a long time. How long had I been asleep?  
Instead of answering me, he came forward and took my hand then led me to the couch. I was in no state to resist him. After we sat down, I then stole a glance at the bed and was immediately shocked.

Over half of it was entirely **covered **in blood. Some had dripped onto the floor as well, staining the dark wood. It took me a moment to realize that all of it had been mine. That was probably the reason I felt so exhausted, it looked like half of all my fluids had been drained out.

"Well shit," I muttered.

Slenderman didn't say a word. I shifted my gaze to him, he was sitting a bit bent over with his elbows resting on his knees. His featureless face stared back at me as if gauging my reaction.

"What the hell happened?" I asked. My voice was starting to irritate me, so I hoped that he would spare me the trouble of speaking any more. Besides, a lot of things had happened while I was unconscious that I wanted to know about.

For a moment, he didn't speak. When he did, he sounded tired, but his voice was pleasant to my ears nonetheless. He could probably scream at me in rage and it would still have the same effect on me.

"You were bleeding substantially. I took you here because I thought that you wouldn't appreciate all the blood on your bed." He paused. "I had to remove some fragments left behind by the bullet, and this caused you to bleed even more. I started healing you immediately. Then you stopped breathing…"

What he was saying was matching up perfectly with what little I'd experienced while half alive. I could recall the sharp pains, and him physically pushing air into my lungs.

"It was from all the blood you had lost. I thought that you weren't going to survive, considering all the fluids that had left your body. You've been in a deep state of slumber for two full days."

Well. Sounds like he had fun. It was a lot of trouble just to get me stable again, not to mention how he needed to keep me in a constant state of being alive. "Where exactly are we?"

"A cabin that I discovered. It has been abandoned ever since I came across it."

I adjusted the blankets around me. "Can we go back to the house now? I don't think I'm bleeding out anymore."

There was a small smile in his voice. "If I used my teleportation on you again, it would put you in the same condition that you were in two days ago. It is best if we stay until you are almost fully recovered."

I gave a sigh and fought back a shiver, putting my legs up to my chin on the couch in an attempt to generate more heat by being in a ball. "You just want me to freeze."

Somehow he attained another, thicker blanket in a split second, then he stood up to tuck it around my form. It thankfully covered all of me. While he did this, I stared up into his empty face. I didn't care if he was looking at me as well or not.

I wanted to ask about why he had kept repeating my name over and over to me. Each time had sounded differently, some were urgent, others were in a soft tone. But part of me dismissed the thought of trying to discuss it. I didn't want to admit it, but I did have some idea of an explanation for it.

Slenderman stepped back and returned to his seat on the other side of the couch. He still didn't have a trace of blood on him anywhere, despite how he basically performed a very messy surgery on me. How he could manage to stay that clean was beyond my comprehension.

I'd had more near-death experiences recently that I'd ever had in the past. I mean, there's always the possibility of dying from nearly anything, but I had only ever come this close to it a handful of times. It always seemed to be interrupted by Slenderman in some way. Whether he had been the cause of it or not.

The idea of him having to drag me back into this world and keep me from doing otherwise was ludacris to me. He shouldn't be concerned with me this much, I was bound to die eventually.

We were both killing each other. In different ways, but still. I seemed to be making him so frustrated with himself for what he felt towards me, when I never intended for him to get ensnared in my torrent anyway. No one was supposed to get this close to me. They always end up not being able to survive in the harsh conditions, the storm tearing them apart bit by bit.

Suddenly feeling tired, I yawned and felt the urge to lay down again. But I knew that this would cause my shoulder to hurt again, so I didn't move. It was a great effort just to keep my eyes open. I looked over at Slenderman and was met with his face gazing into mine. I wondered if he was thinking about the same things as me, how we both managed to get caught up in each other like this.

What little light was peeking through the cracks in the walls then decided to disappear. So it had been sunset. Darkness swallowed up the room, not letting me see Slenderman clearly anymore. I couldn't believe that I had slept for so long and yet my body still wanted more.

_Sleep, Rei…_

That did it. As soon as his caressing voice entered my mind, my head fell against the couch cushion beside me.

* * *

I stayed at the cabin for another day. Slenderman had managed to surprise me with a steaming cup of tea, which I didn't know he knew how to prepare. I guess he really had been watching me all this time.

I also got some wood into the fireplace and got the room warmed up. I stayed on the couch most of the time, staring at the orange flames in front of me. I was impatient to get back to the house. A long shower would definately do me some good. Not to mention how hungry I was, and how much I longed for my mini wheats.

When Slenderman came back next, I demanded that we go back. At first he tried to tell me no, but I argued my point and eventually he agreed to take us to the house. He left right after he teleported me there.

Upon appearing into the livingroom i immediately went to turn on the heater. I then realized as I went into the kitchen that Slenderman had brought all of my groceries back here, safe and sound. Hastily I prepared a large bowl of my frosted mini wheats. For the time that it took to eat this, I curled up on the couch and listened to the familiar silence of the house.

My stomach hurt a little after I ate. I knew that I probably shouldn't have eaten that much and let my stomach get back to a normal diet, but I wasn't exactly in a caring state right now.

I hadn't known how many blankets were wrapped around me until I took them all off in the bathroom. There were five altogether, some thicker than others. Underneath that was my tank top that was now crusted with scarlet fluid. The strap on my injured side was hanging off of my shoulder, revealing my blood-covered skin.

I needed to look at the wound clearly. I took everything off and stepped into the shower. Surprisingly it didn't hurt very much to move my arm, but I still couldn't lift it very high. It definately felt like I'd had a hole shot through me.

Wincing, I scrubbed gently at my shoulder to get all the crusted blood off. The reddish water pooling around my feet made it look like I was bleeding out all over again. The wound felt strange, not very painful, but still sensetive. This was probably because I had been healed by a supernatural being and his strange powers.

The wound was already healed. I stood in front of the mirror wrapped in a towel, my skin now cleaned of the crimson liquids. Instead of what I was expecting, the hole was completely closed up, the only mark was a small circle, tinged pink from scar tissue. If I hadn't been healed, who knows how long it would have taken to recover like this.

Gingerly I reached up and touched a finger to the circle. The skin was still healing over the wound, and it felt soft to the touch.

Slenderman's tall figure materialized behind me in the mirror. I looked at his reflection, not turning around. His face was tilted down slightly. He was looking at the scar too.

"What took you so long to show up?" I asked, referring to the gunshow that had occurred.

He didn't respond. I moved to face him, wanting an answer. It seemed like he hadn't meant for me to get shot. But he hadn't appeared when he revealed that he knew that I was in danger. I was confused, to say the least.

"I can teleport small distances. I wasn't close enough to your location, otherwise I would have come before they even pointed their weapons at you," he finally replied. His hand lifted and he laid his fingers against the scar just below my collarbone. It sent a small chill through me. "You are aware of my mental abilities?"

I nodded. Honestly his touch was making me want to sleep.

"For an unknown reason, I seem to have formed some sort of mental bond with you. This means that I can sense where you are, what you feel, and what is going on around you. I am not normally able to do this with humans."

That explains why he didn't show up immediately. But...we were mentally connected? Wonderful. This was a whole new level of bonding.

His hand shifted from the scar to my protruding collarbone. After tracing it lightly, he moved a little higher. Before he could touch my face, I took his hand and held it there. My hand was nearly half the size of his alabaster one.

I wasn't intentionally rejecting him. I was having one of my moments when I can't allow myself to be **comforted**. Normally I can't allow this anyway, but there had been a change in me that I wasn't sure I liked. Somehow Slenderman had disabled my defenses without me being aware of it.

It made me feel so very vulnerable, something that I had never felt. He wasn't on the outside of the walls like everyone else was. He was right next to the part of myself that was closed in, and he wouldn't leave. Not until I came with him.

It was difficult, not being able to shut him out anymore. Unnatural. And there was nothing I could do about it. Except wait for the coming implosion, of course.

That was going to be interesting.

Slenderman's fingers curled around mine. He was staring down at me and giving off waves of multiple things, mostly what I recognized to be anger. A second after I recognized his emotion, the light above us suddenly went out. His megnetic pulse was leaking out into the air around us.

I laughed quietly. "If I frustrate you so much, why do you put up with me? Honestly, I think that you should have killed me a long time ago."

"That was not, and is not currently an option." He sounded gravely serious in contrast to my bitter laugh.

"Why not? You've taken countless lives before, why was mine any different?"

His fingers readjusted to wrap around my entire hand. "I have not been able to find the answer yet. There have been times when I was able to kill you, and I almost did, but...something isn't the same. Something will not allow me to finish it."

I blinked at his faint figure in the darkness. He seemed to be looking at my hand intently, covered by his larger one. I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "Maybe I just haven't made you angry enough yet. Or you haven't realized how meaningless I am."

He chuckled then, sounding amused. "It is ironic how someone like you will not accept what truth is right in front of her. Instead you continue to search and pick out solutions that simply are not the correct answer. Are you afraid, Rei? Of what you do not want to realize?"

"I'm not afraid."

And I wasn't. If what he was saying really was true, and the answer was the one that I didn't want to face, I wouldn't run from it like a scared little girl. I preferred to search for a more logically suiting solution. A large part of me simply did not want to even try to believe in what was being suggested, for it just didn't seem possible to me.

Although, a part of me had also already accepted and understood. I chose not to admit to it, or show any sign of it. My paranoia wouldn't let me. But as much as I felt the shadow of my nearly concrete suspicion, the idea that Slenderman was faking had already been destroyed. I wanted to believe in it again, but I had lost the will to.

It was extremely hard. Thinking about what had happened just made me want to run away and forget that these things had ever formed into existence. Of course, it was impossible to run from this. I was trapped.

Maybe what bothers me the most about it is that part of me didn't mind.

I was then abruptly overwhelmed by a rush of a strong sensation that had been very dormant until now. From Slenderman's hand was flowing his strong power, the almost unbearable pull that made me want to collapse and fly at the same time. I tried to pull my hand away, but he held me there, letting his power flow unrelenting.

Hearing his wonderful voice whisper to me was almost enough to send me over the edge. "Do you feel it, Rei? The consuming **need** inside of you?"

I stepped back and bumped into the counter, with him following to press himself to me, effectively entrapping me. I looked up at his white face, sinking further and further into this sea of inexplainable yet blissful torment.

"I feel it too," he continued. As if to better explain his point, his hand squeezed mine and sent even more desire through me. "Except, you don't have the power that I do. The effect you have on me doesn't come from your natural abilities. It is generated by who you are, every thing that you do."

With my free hand I clutched the edge of the counter. This caused a small flash of pain to echo in my shoulder, but I didn't care. The fire in my veins couldn't be deterred by such a weak sensation.

"It does not make any sense," Slenderman added. "You confuse me, you anger me, you cause these things inside me that I never knew existed. I hate this...just as much as I cannot stay away from it."

"Just shut up!" I snapped.

He seemed taken aback by my outburst. We fell into a silence, him at a loss for words. This didn't stop me, though.

"I will never understand why you think all of these things about me. I...I hate myself. I hate being the way that I am, and how I can't escape the things that constantly haunt me. In my opinion, I'm not considerable as anything but worthless." Unleashing my anger was a bit difficult when I was being smothered by his power.

But I couldn't stop now. "You weren't supposed to save me. You were supposed to kill me, just like you would have done with any other person on the planet. But no...you hesitated. Because of that hesitation, we're both drowning in each other." A bubble of familiar laughter escaped me. "You really shouldn't be bothering with me. Can't you see that I'm hopeless?"

A long moment passed when he didn't speak. I was beginning to think that maybe I had finally made him realize what misconception he had made about me, and that he had finally come to his senses and would end my life. But, I couldn't be more wrong.

Something that I could only describe as complete rage began eminating from him. The way it made my skin seem to go rigid, I fully expected him to lash out at me. What I actually received was the most unexpected reaction from him.

He leaned down, his face dangerously close to mine, and spoke in such a soft voice that it almost made me afraid of him. "When you come to realize how wrong you are, Rei, I will be waiting for you."

Then he vanished, and there was a deafening static noise before the mirror behind me exploded from the magnitude of his power. Instinctively I ducked to the floor, trying not to get cut by the falling shards.

It was quiet. He was just...gone. From what he said, it sounded like he wouldn't be coming back for a long time. I really pissed him off this time.

Well, it only proves my point.

* * *

I had just put some clothes on and had another bowl of cereal when there was a frantic knock at the door. Swallowing the last of my food, I went over to the door and opened it.

Marie smiled at me. "Hello, Rei."

I was a bit surprised. Did I forget to give her something of Tom's?

"Are you busy? I was hoping to ask you something," she continued.

"What is it?"

She gave me another big smile. She seemed excited about something. "I know I told you that I was leaving quite a while ago, but we decided to stay in town for a bit longer. Me and my family were actually going to leave today, but I was wanting to take you out to dinner before we leave."

Oh. Well...this was weird.

"What place were you thinking of?" was all I could reply.

"Oh, the chinese place by the garden shop. It's really good. And my daughter wanted to see you again, her name is Anabelle. Can you come? I'll drive you, of course. Jared told me about the truck."

I took a deep breath in the hope that I would make the right decision here. I didn't exactly want to be rude, but I wasn't sure if I was willing to be social. At seeing Marie's bright eyes, I caved.

I went back inside to get ready. As I was shoving my boots on, I had a small thought in the back of my mind. Almost like I shouldn't be doing this, especially when there was the clear hint that Slenderman wasn't going to show up for a while. I shook my head and stuck my gun in its rightful place. I could take care of myself.

On the way to town, Marie talked constantly about random topics. Her house, her job, her childhood. I didn't know that it was possible to cram that much information into a person in such a short car ride. It wasn't annoying or anything, it just astonished me how utterly talkative and eccentric she was about things.

We soon arrived into town. For some reason, as we could see the hotel coming closer, I had a sinking feeling in my gut. I really should have listened to it.

The hotel was just across the street. We were at a stoplight, and I could see Marie's daughter running out of the hotel room in a frilly little dress. Her hair was put into pigtails, curling at the ends. She stopped at the corner of the parking lot, waving at us excitedly.

Marie laughed a little.

We pulled into the hotel parking lot and exited the car. Anabelle came out of her room and ran up to me, her curly pigtails bouncing.

"Hi, Rei!"

"Hey," I replied. She took my hand and pulled me backwards before I could protest. I looked to Marie for help, but she just smiled and told me she needed to get her son ready. So I had to let Anabelle lead me to her destination. It was the corner of the parking lot, where she had drawn numerous pictures on the sidewalk with all different colors of chalk.

"See, that's the dragon, and there's the princess! I named the princess after you," she said with the brightest eyes I had ever seen.

I somehow found the image quite amusing. The dragon was holding the princess in its huge claws, while the small girl was screaming to get free. Knights were at the dragon's feet, trying to rescue the poor damsel.

"You have some real talent," I told Anabelle.

Her response was a toothy grin that actually made me chuckle.

That's when everything happened at once.

The black van pulled up to the curb so quickly that I didn't have time to react before its door slid open, and two figures reached out for Anabelle, who was a good few feet away from me.

_No!_

I dove forward, not thinking to get out my gun or anything. All I could do was wrap my arms around Anabelle's small frame and try to wrench her from the men's grip. Anabelle shrieked so loudly that it partially deafened me as well as the potential kidnappers.

I kicked one of the men blindly and they released, allowing me to yank Anabelle from them and fall back onto the sidewalk. A cry of pain escaped me when my shoulder collided with the ground.

Anabelle scrambled out of my arms and ran screaming for her mother, straight back to the hotel room. I could only lay there on the concrete, the wind knocked out of me. To my surprise and irritation, the two figures in the van actually leapt out and took hold of me from both sides.

If I hadn't been fighting for breath, I would have been cursing at them to drop me. But the only action I could perform was kicking and flailing in an attempt to free myself. They lifted me from the ground with an uncanny ease, keeping me in the air while they carried me back to the van.

_Fuck!_

That was my last thought before I was shoved haphazardly into the van, and someone pressed a rag to my face. Soaked in chloroform. As much as I tried to fight it, unconsciousness overtook me.

* * *

"...couldn't get the…"

"...fine. This can…"

Voices. Who was talking?

Where…

...Fuck.

As I breathed more deeply, I gained more awareness and my senses. I couldn't see. There was a blindfold over my eyes, as well as something over my mouth. Probably duct tape. Immediately I was pissed.

I tried to move. My hands were tied tightly behind my back, as well as my ankles being together. The most I could do was curl inward on myself.

Well. I had been kidnapped. This was just fucking fantastic.

Something nudged my side. I jerked away from it, wanting to snap at whoever it was. The person gave a malicious chuckle and seemed to bend down to my level.

"It seems she's awake finally," he announced.

There was a small murmur of responses from other places around me.

"She isn't what I asked for, boys."

Shuffling. "We tried to get the little one, but this one got in the way and let her escape. We took her instead."

The one near me made a noise of disappointment. "Oh well. We take what we can, I guess. She doesn't look very healthy."

Healthy? Just what the hell did that have to do with anything?

The man pulled the blindfold off of me. I flinched at the sudden light, trying to focus as fast as I could. When I did, I was staring into the cold black eyes of a middle-aged man, with a scar on his cheek. He smiled at me, a lopsided smirk that could only be described as dangerous.

"Welcome to hell."

* * *

**...Please don't kill me xD I apologize in advance for this...leave a review, if you please. Or just murder me...either would be nice o.o**


	18. Catalyst

"Matthew, stop scaring her," a woman's voice snapped. "I'm sure she's afraid enough as it is."

If I had been in any other situation, I would have laughed at her words.

But quite a few things were stopping me from doing so. For one, there was duct tape pressed against my mouth. Another fact was that I had been abducted. I had no idea where the hell I was, or what these people wanted.

A cold laugh came from the man standing in front of me. "I really don't think that it matters whether she's frightened or not, considering what's going to happen to her."

The room was seemingly made of cement. Smooth gray walls stared back at me, as well as five other faces besides the one that was right above mine. I scooted backwards as best I could while being in my current state. I couldn't think straight with all the thoughts rushing through my brain. Why was I here? What did this guy mean?

A wall met my form. My hands were seemingly taped together, behind my back rather uncomfortably. As well as my ankles.

I wanted to get up, or do anything, but even if it was possible it wouldn't do any good. So I could only sit there and scan the room like a fucking trapped animal.

"Should we take her to Cara now?" someone asked.

Matthew was leering at me with his smug grin. "Not yet. I want to spend a few minutes with her. Everyone out."

There was a murmur of disagreement.

"You sure?" the female asked Matt, standing by a door. She had a look on her face that stated how uncaring she was about everything.

"Yep," Matthew replied. He never took his eyes off of me.

The other figures exited the room. I tried to see what was beyond the doorway, but it was shadowed. When the door was shut once more, Matthew stepped towards me. I'd never had another moment in my life when I'd wanted to pull my gun on someone this badly.

He bent down to my level and crouched there, reaching behind him to dig something from his pocket. I felt my stomach turn as he pulled out a large knife. But I was surprised when he didn't try to harm me. He reached for my feet and pulled them away from me, cutting the tape around them with ease.

I didn't move my now freed legs. I kept myself still when he pulled the remaining tape off of me, then took my arm and turned me around to cut at the binding around my wrists.

"In case you didn't hear my colleague snap at me, my name's Matthew," he stated. He stood and went to the other side of the room. There was a single chair against the wall, which he promptly sat in, facing me.

I ripped the tape from my mouth, wincing at the sting afterwards. My mouth felt a little weird from the chloroform.

"You probably want to know why you're here," Matthew continued. "Am I right?"

Keeping my hands on the wall behind me, I slowly stood up. His dark eyes watched my every movement. He wouldn't think twice about snapping my neck, I could see it in his eyes. I wasn't about to run for the door, anyway. I wasn't stupid. He was easily twice my size, and would be considered very intimidating to the average person. His muscles reflected the strength and power that radiated form his eyes.

But he had absolutely nothing on Slenderman.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to defend myself in the slightest against him. My act of standing was just personally for my preference. I noticed with even more dread that I didn't have my gun anymore, probably taken when they first brought me here.

Matthew stretched his legs out in his chair, folding his arms across his chest in a noncholant manner. "Maybe I shouldn't tell you. Let you drown in your wandering thoughts, never knowing the truth. That might be fun to watch." He smiled at me again. He seemed to do that a lot. "Well, chickie, do you wanna know?"

This guy was very strange. Not just because of being a kidnapper, but because of his mannerisms. There was something deeply off about him. When he looked at me, something was dancing in his black orbs, something ominous. Familiar.

His hair was a dark brown, and it just reached his eyebrows, only slightly curly at the ends. Very unkept. He wore a thick black jacket with jeans to match.

"Look," he said, changing his tone to a more serious one. "You're not brainless. I can see that. You haven't run screaming for the door like all the others."

Others?

He was now bent forward with his arms on his knees. "If you don't wanna speak, that's fine, I understand. You just need to know a couple things. If you move even once out of place, or give me any reason to think you're planning something, I won't spare you." He chuckled upon seeing my eyes narrow. "But you won't do anything, will you? You know that you can't do anything. Smart girl."

He got up from his chair and made his way over to me. Just a foot away, I could feel something coming off of him in a pulse, something that felt almost familiar. It was...chaotic.

He glowered down at me like a deranged joker. "Now, we're going to go out, and you will behave. I freed you because I have faith that you won't make stupid decisions. Don't make me regret it."

I almost wanted to laugh at him. But I wanted to keep my spine intact for now, so I gave a nod.

He led me out the door. Thankfully he didn't touch me, he just kept his hand hovering behind my back as if escorting me. The female I'd seen earlier was waiting for us, her lips curled at me in a snarl. She had some sort of issue with me, it seemed. I had no idea what.

Quickly I surveyed where I was. A hallway, white walls, white floor. So much white that it made me think I would go blind from it. I could see other doors, with placards next to them that held numbers on them. It looked like a hospital. Except, there weren't any doctors or any of the things that could normally be seen in such a place.

"You took off her tape," the female growled in displeasure.

"Relax. She won't try anything," Matthew said quietly. The way he spoke sounded like he was trying not to disturb me as I checked out my surroundings.

The woman's fists were clenched at her sides. "I wouldn't be so sure. Anyway, Cara's getting impatient. I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Alright. This way, if you will, chickie."

He gestured to the right, down the hall. I glanced at the scowling woman before walking, taking in her seething look with a blank face. I kind of wanted to smile at her, just to make her even angrier.

The hall was desolate besides the occasional door. This hospital seemed a little different, the way it looked and was set up. Though I couldn't quite figure out exactly why.

One of the doors was slightly open. Matthew pushed it open, signaling for me to go in. It was like a doctor's office of some sort. Cabinets, various bottles and tools on the counters. It smelled of sanitation.

"Here she is, Cara," Matthew spoke behind me.

A woman looked up from the desk in the room. She wore glasses, and had long blonde hair that framed the sides of her face. Her dark green sweater looked disheveled and dirty, like she hadn't changed it for days. Her eyes flicked to me.

"She's not tied up," she noted, sounding a little nervous. Though whether she was anxious about me or Matthew, that I couldn't tell.

"It'll be okay," Matthew assured her.

The woman played with the pen in her hand for a few seconds, looking from me to Matthew. Then she gave a sigh and stood up. "Will you sit down, please?" She nodded at a chair near me. I complied, trying not to look back at Matthew. I felt a strange instinct to be watching him at all times.

"You must be very confused," she began with an attempt at a smile. But she looked distraught for some reason. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she picked up a clipboard from the desk. "But I won't hurt you. Not like I physically could, anyway. I'm just going to check your vitals and such."

I didn't like acting so docile. Especially since on the inside I was seething with anger and unease at being here. I felt like I was going to lose control if anyone touched me, turn into a feral creature and destroy everything around me.

But it was the better decision in this situation. If I didn't do what they wanted, I would be restrained and probably very injured, and they would do what they wanted despite my efforts.

I tried not to flinch from the woman when she sat next to me and took my hand. Her cold fingers slipped under my jacket sleeve to feel my pulse, and she scribbled something down. This was so bizzare. Just what the hell was going on?

The woman then remained silent for the rest of the time that I was with her. The only sound that came from her were single words that she muttered under her breath as she wrote them down on her little clipboard.

"Underweight."

"Borderline anemic."

"Malnourished."

She conducted almost a full physical examination of me. I kept trying to figure out what I was here for, but nothing seemed to be the correct answer. They could be human traffickers. That would be just lovely, wouldn't it?

"Alright, I'm done," she concluded as she went back to her desk. "She should probably have something to eat before tomorrow. Her system looks really weak."

Matthew gave a snort. "I doubt she'll eat anything unless we force it down her throat."

At this, she threw him a look of disapproval. He only grinned at her and then nodded at me. "Well, time for bed, chickie. Follow me."

I could feel Cara's eyes follow me as I left the room. If she really felt so bad about this, why didn't she do anything? Whatever this was, she didn't like doing it. But for some reason she still did. What could it be that was so important to her?

The building was fairly large from what I could tell. It seemed very vacant, however. Almost abandoned. I could hear faint noises come from a couple of the rooms that we passed, such as laughter or outraged shouting that someone had cheated at the card game. One room had only the sound of guns loading and being aimed. When I glanced inside the half open door, I could see the hostile female from earlier, seated at a table covered with guns of all sorts.

I kept moving.

"You're a lot different than the others, I'll give you that," Matthew said in a complimenting manner. He was now walking beside me. "Everyone else had to be securely restrained and watched at all times to make sure they wouldn't do anything stupid. They always screamed. Or cried, depending on their hysteria."

When he caught me staring at him, the corner of his mouth twitched up a bit. He had a very lopsided way of smiling. "You're probably wondering what the hell we're planning to do with you, am I right? This might not be exactly comforting to know, but it's nothing that you're thinking of. I can be sure of that."

He stopped abruptly at a door and turned to it while pulling a set of keys out. The number plate said Room 302. When he opened it, I peered inside. Before I could comprehend what it was, Matthew had stepped closer to me and automatically made me move into the room to avoid being close to him.

"If you need anything, well, you'll have to wait until morning. Sweet dreams, chickie."

He closed the door and locked it, shutting me in the dim room.

I was in a mental hospital. The bed on the far corner had restraint cuffs hanging off of its white frame, as well as it being bolted down to the hard floor. There was one window that was too high up on the wall for me to reach, even if I were to stand on something. In the corner to my left was a small toilet with a sink.

Basically what I could conclude was that I was in an abandoned mental hospital with a group of people with a lot of guns and unhealthy amount of ambition, who needed me for an unknown reason. Apparently there had been others, as well. I had an idea of what happened to them.

But just what was going on? It seemed like they were doing some sort of...experiment. That did explain why I was examined, but everything else was just confusing.

I of course stood there in the middle of the room for a good fifteen minutes trying to decide whether or not to even move from my spot. My body obviously wanted to rest, being worked up by everything that had happened. But I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to simply sit down.

Might as well save my energy. I took my seat on the white bed, which creaked under my weight. I was glancing up at the wall across from me and I noticed a small camera sitting in the upper corner. The small red light next to the lens shone down at me, indicating that I was being watched.

Glorious.

How did I manage to so brilliantly get myself into this situation? Oh, right. I royally pissed off a very powerful entity of supernatural force and then made the decision to be social for once in my life, resulting in **this**. I just can't help myself when it comes to causing problems.

Yes, I was wondering whether Slenderman knew what had happened or not. From what he told me before he left, he could sense what was happening around me if he chose to connect with my mind. Did he know?

Maybe he did. He was just choosing to let me deal with my problems on my own without any help from him. That seemed very likely, considering how I went off on him like that.

I stopped myself before I could start to think about what he had said and how I might have made him feel by snapping at him. This was not the time to be concerned about it. Either way, I was alone here. Just like I should be.

Eventually I fell into slumber. I wasn't exactly meaning to, but my eyelids just gave out and I collapsed onto the bed. There was no point in staying up and being exhausted anyway, especially if I planned to escape. All of my thoughts were very conflicted at this point. I should do things, but I also shouldn't. Very confusing.

For once in a long time, I actually dreamed.

This wasn't just a simple dream where you can't control anything and it's just random things happening. It was the kind where you almost feel conscious while in your subconscious world, able to think rationally and do things that you could never do in reality.

I was in the forest. But it was the opposite of how it normally was, with bright sunlight shining through the trees and highlighting the colors of the nature. I couldn't stop looking around in surprise at how elegant and theraputic everything looked. It never looked like this. It probably never could.

Even the birds were chirping loudly, along with the other lively sounds of the creatures that resided among the foliage. As I walked through the trees I saw multiple animals skip across my path without a hint of fear. They didn't even notice me.

One of the trees in the distance then shifted. I realized in a second that it wasn't a tree, but rather an unnaturally tall man. Wearing the darkest of suits in contrast to his blindingly white skin.

He began walking towards me with long strides that made no noise.

I was not going to do this. Not going to dream about him. He'll go away eventually, and I can then imagine people to appear in my dream so that I can amuse myself by torturing them.

I turned around and went the other way. Just keep going and he'll disappear. It's your dream, you have control. For once, you can be in control of something.

Listening to the serenity of the forest, I tried to think of everything else besides **him**. I thought of things that would be powerful enough to distract me. Tom, for example. Or my parents. Their delicious macaroons. How Tom would buy things just for me or take me places for no reason other than to do something kind on my behalf.

Something curled around my wrist and halted me. Dammit. This dream was stupid. It wasn't behaving correctly.

Before I could turn, his tendrils wrapped around me and lifted me into the air, manually turning me to face him. He stood at a very tall height, and was holding me up about 10 feet above the ground just so that my face would be level with his. One would think that being held up like this would be uncomfortable.

However, his black apendages were being strangely supportive of my weight, one going underneath my thighs to act almost like a seat. Now being forced to look at him, I took in his appearance in the sparkling sunlight. He looked so different, and yet the same as he always did.

I had never seen him in such light before. His pure porcelain complexion was now nearly blinding to look at, yet I couldn't tear my eyes away even if my vision was being damaged.

What could he be doing here? I know that my subconscious is partially responsible for this, but I had tried to make him go away. I didn't even want to face him in my dreams, let alone real life. This would only torture me.

I couldn't speak. I could stay in this dream for centuries and never know what I should say to him. All I could do was stare into his blank face, hoping that he couldn't see into my soul with his dark powers.

If it had been reality, I would have jumped when I felt his hand graze my cheek. He stroked it softly before fully laying his hand on my face, as gently as if he were cradling something fragile. His touch sent a jolt of familiar warmth rushing through me and it made me reconsider whether this was a dream or not.

He spoke not a word. His emotions, however, were screaming vividly and rattling me to the bone. There were waves after waves of different things that all felt so very real. His hand tightened on my face when I felt his anger, and when I felt the anguish. The sorrow, along with something I could not name, clawed its way inside me and began tearing my insides to shreds. It was all so intense.

As if he could not stand to be there any longer, he turned away from me, his hand slipping away from my skin.

Something inside me ripped open in agony and I yanked my arms out of the grip of his tendrils. In the seconds that it took for me to reach out, he had begun to step away, putting a good foot of distance between us.

_Stop!_

With an inaudible grunt I bent myself forward within his grip and clasped my hands around his before it could go out of reach.

All sound ceased at once. The forest seemed to freeze, and then the fog rolled across the ground, just how it should be. The sun vanished and dropped us into the comforting gray air that I knew so well.

I wanted to speak, to say anything at all, but no words could come. They were swirling around in my mind like angry bees, but none of them could seem to break past the barrier and fly into my mouth. I could only stare at Slenderman's half turned figure with pleading eyes and fully extended arms grasping his hand.

Now I sort of wished that he _would_ read my mind. That would make it so much easier.

I held my breath as his face turned back to mine. He seemed almost tentative, in such a way that made me want to laugh. Him being nervous was the last thing I would expect him to be.

The image of him began to blur, and as he turned fully to me once more with a strangely hopeful air about him, I found myself drowning in static noise.

* * *

Abruptly my eyes shot open into the darkness and I could hear my heart pounding in my chest. I sat up, not knowing where I was, then felt my stomach sink when I saw my hands clutching the unfamiliar white bed sheets.

I threw off the blankets and pulled my knees up to my chest, sitting back against the wall. I was shaking. Whether it was just from the dream, or from the way I woke up, I couldn't tell. I didn't care at this point anyway.

It was still dark outside. I had no idea what time it was, of course, but it didn't look like it was morning yet. Not like I was looking forward to the morning or the events to come in it.

Did Slenderman have the ability to manipulate my dreams? Or somehow put himself into them? He had never done it before, but that didn't mean that he wasn't capable of it. Maybe it was just my subconscious being very persistent. It was very possible, but the way that it all played out still felt strange.

One thing I knew for sure. I wasn't about to fall asleep again. My mind was now in overdrive, unable to listen to the rest of me trying to relax. It hadn't been like this in quite a while. It felt very familiar.

I hated it. But, it helped me stay awake when I needed to. Like now, for example.

I let out a deep sigh into the silent room. This was definitely one of those moments when I wished that I could fast-forward into the future and just skip ahead to the part where everything evens out and I don't really have to experience things. But at the same time I wanted to just play it out and see what happened, so I wouldn't miss anything.

I almost had the urge to try to mentally call out to Slenderman, just to see if he could hear me. However I had a strong feeling that he would block me out. I would too, if I were him. I deserved it.

Disliking yourself is never a good thing. But for me it is inevitable. It's been this way ever since I can remember. I was never fond of the way that I thought, or the way I saw things, even when they gave me valuable insight. I hated the way that I laughed when things were falling apart inside me. Hysterical laughter echoing in the empty space that my humanity had once vacated.

Breathing finally under control, I sat there on the creaky bed until the hours gave way to morning and dim light began to shine in the window.

* * *

**Hello people! I want to thank all of you for your reviews and stuff, it makes me feel all special when I see that people actually have nice things to say about my writing...so thank you :D You make my day a lot better :3 So if you please, tell me what you think so far! And don't be afraid to stab me with your words if you think that something isn't right xD **

**I also would like to apologize for the slow update/crappy chapter full of crappy crapness made of crap. I've been loaded up with homework and shit that I can't even begin to explain. But hopefully I can get the next chapter done soon and then both you and me will be happy :D**


	19. Prelude To Obscurity

**So I'm going to start something. It's going to be called Awesome Song of The Day. I shall put it at the beginning of every chapter because I damn well feel like it. Yeah.**

**If you have a suggestion for me, I might use it if I like it. Spread the awesomeness of music.**

**Awesome Song of The Day: Sick by Evanescence**

_**Hold on, little girl  
The end is soon to come**_

Sick of it all  
Sick of it all  
We will not follow  
Sick of it all  
Sick of it all  
They don't understand how  
Sick we are  
Sick we are  
Of this bottomless  
Pit of lies  
Behind closed eyes

* * *

About an hour after a strong light began to filter into the room, Matthew came to the door and unlocked it, stepping into the room with a ring of keys twirling around his fingers.

"Rise and shine, chickie, rise and shine," he said with a yawn. "You woke up pretty early, didn't you? Looks like you only slept a couple hours at most. Well, you won't need sleep anyways." He smiled. "I'll come back in a little bit. I suggest that you take care of any personal business you might have before then."

With that he left. Tearing my eyes away from the door, I stretched my limbs out in front of me and stood up. I felt like shit. Not just because of my lack of sleep, either. It was partially because I had no idea what was going to happen today. There was also the fact that I had a bad feeling about Slenderman not being in contact with me.

I shook my head violently and ran my fingers through my messy hair. He probably wouldn't come get me anyways, even if I wanted him to. I deserved whatever cruel torture these people would inflict upon me.

Matthew came back ten minutes later, motioning for me to follow him out of the room.

"So I take it that you realized where you are, right? I mean, I'm sure the bed was pretty obvious with the restraints," Matthew said in a manner that I could describe as small talk.

The white decor of the place now made sense of course. It was as if the bland walls void of color were meant to numb you into a state of oblivion, or at least calm you, to an extent. They only annoyed me.

Matthew continued talking the whole time we walked through the halls. "It gets pretty damn creepy at night, I'll tell you that. I'm not someone who scares very easily, but I wouldn't want to be the one who has to patrol these halls. That's why Jerry has that job. The man is a walking tank. I think that even a murderous ghost would run scared at the sight of him."

Faintly I could hear voices getting closer. The clanking of dishes, scraping of silverware on ceramic.

Matthew suddenly then held his arm out in front of me, making me halt and look up at him. He had a serious look about him again. "Now, chickie, I'm letting you have more privelages than I probably should. I need to reassure you that if you don't behave, you'll suffer the consequences. You understand?"

Before waiting even a second for me to respond, he dropped his arm. "Of course you do. Let's go."

He urged me forward and out of the hallway. We entered something that looked like a cafeteria, except there was only one long table in the center of the room, all the other tables were folded and shoved into a corner. On one side of the room was some sort of serving area with a kitchen beyond the counter full of food. There were various pots and dishes with fruit and pancakes.

I didn't have very much time to inspect all of what was there on account of Matthew making me move further into the room and making everyone sitting at the table look up at us. The conversations and laughter ceased, and was replaced with surprised faces.

Ignoring their looks of confusion, Matthew kept walking. "Morning, everyone. What's for breakfast? Please don't tell me it's those awful grits again."

"It's oatmeal today," someone spoke up, glancing between me and Matthew. He was trying to shake off his apparent shock. "And pancakes. There's no sugar, though. You'll have to make do with whatever else we have."

"Good. I don't like sweet things anyway." He winked at me.

Kill me now.

The feral girl who seemed to have me at the top of her hit list was giving me the seething look of death. Maybe she'll put me out of my misery if I push her hard enough. Might come in handy later when I figure out what exactly I'm here for, if the need is necessary.

Against my personal comfort, Matthew made me go all the way to the table so that we were right in front of it. I actually somehow had the hope that I wouldn't have to sit with them when I saw that there was no room, all eleven of them present. But then my hope died and was burned to ash when the blonde woman, Cara, got up from her seat.

"I'll be in my room if I'm needed," she said quietly as she gathered her things and hurriedly left the room. Only a couple people looked up as she exited.

"You sure this is okay, Matt?" someone questioned.

Matthew nudged me towards the now empty seat. "She won't cause trouble. Chill."

"That's not what I meant…"

The man trailed off, and I sat down. I was next to who I presumed to be Jerry, who really was a tank of a man. He looked like he should have been in professional wrestling. While I was busy contemplating whether or not his arm was bigger than my head, the feral girl on my right was having a one-sided glaring contest with me.

Eventually everyone went back to eating their food. Claustrophobia crept its way up my spine and made me feel like shrinking in on myself just to have some room between me and these people. There was actually a lot of space on either side of me, but it felt like I was being crushed into a very small box. A jewelry box.

Matthew got two full plates of food one of which he set down in front of me, then left in the direction that Cara had gone. When his form disappeared, the girl next to me snatched my plate and moved it to the other side of her own.

I couldn't even look at her. What was the cause of her hostility towards me? I was more puzzled than upset. Hell, I wasn't upset at all. I couldn't care less about the food.

"Lori, what's got your thong in a twist?" a smirking guy asked from across the table. He was chewing a mouthful of oatmeal, amusement sparkling in his amber eyes.

"Fuck you, Charlie," Lori snarled in response. She took a spiteful bite of what were supposed to be my pancakes.

Charlie laughed loudly at this. "That time of the month or something? I've never seen you act like this before. I mean, you're usually bitchy, but not this much."

Her response was standing up abruptly and hurling an orange at him. He blocked it with his arms and kept laughing, even as Lori took both plates and went to dump them in the black trash can by the hall. Then she disappeared from view, presumably to look for Matthew.

_Shit, they're dating or something. That would explain a lot. But not why she seems to hate me for no reason._

Now an empty space next to me, I shifted an inch, trying not to attract attention. I just wanted to have a reasonable amount of personal space for myself. When I had moved about three inches, Jerry looked over at me, paused from eating his food. For a very long moment I thought that I had angered him in some way, or made him suspicious.

I began to think of all the ways that he was going to crush my bones and maim me until I was the consistency of spaghetti sauce. To my surprise, however, his interrogating eyes glanced around the table for a second before he took the apple from his plate and set it in my lap. Startled, I took it in both my hands before it could roll off my legs and onto the floor. When I looked back up at him in question, he was ignoring me like nothing had happened.

Well...alright then.

* * *

"No, she doesn't look like a Jennifer, you dumbass."

"You got any better ideas?"

"Hm...Rachael maybe?"

As I said before, kill me now.

The members of the table were deep in debate over trying to figure out what my name was. They had taken it upon themselves to discover it when I had only rewarded their questioning efforts with a blank stare.

"Hey, girl, what would it take for you to speak? I'll do a card trick," one of them said, fumbling in his pocket for a deck of cards.

The rest of the guys groaned. "Not this again. Dude, you suck at card tricks. Don't bore her to death."

"Her name doesn't matter anyway," someone said, a guy who hadn't spoken since I'd been in the room. He looked at the rest of the guys as they fell silent. "Neither does her age. Or who she is. In the end, it won't matter, will it?"

A blonde put his hands up. "Jeez, Nick, we were just having fun. Way to kill the mood."

Nick shook his head in disappointment, drinking his cup of coffee. "You're all idiots. Let her enjoy her last moments without having to listen to you morons babbling."

So far I could conclude that they were planning to kill me. Why or in what way was still something that I had not discovered. This really was a strange group of people.

"All of you shut up," Jerry suddenly spoke up. He had a deep, powerful voice that was sounding strangely quiet. It made me realize that he might look like he could rip you in half, but he wasn't completely brutish on the inside.

He continued when all eyes focused on him. "Matthew said we weren't supposed to tell her anything. Don't give her any hints as to what is to come."

One of them folded his arms in disagreement. "I don't get that. I think we should be allowed to tell her. I mean, she's going to find out anyway, so what's the point-"

"The point **is**, I want it to be a surprise."

Everyone turned around to see Matthew and Lori standing at the entrance to the hallway. Lori had her hand attatched to the inside of his elbow, still staring me down intensely. But what drew my attention more was how Matthew seemed to be killing everyone else in the room with his black eyes.

When his eyes landed on me, they shifted to a glowing ember instead of raging inferno. "I think it's time for you to come with me."

I silently got up and crossed the room whilst listening to the roaring silence encasing the cafeteria. It was actually much better than having to hear the guys rambling about how I looked like a Margaret or a Katie. Maybe Matthew was finally going to take me to my death so I wouldn't have to suffer any more.

One can only hope.

To my disappointment, I was taken back to the room that I spent the night in. As I entered it, Matthew turned back to Lori and moved away from her grip. In response she regained her hardened look she seemed to wear so often. He murmured something to her, and she nodded, going back down the hall without hesitation.

Matthew then looked over at me, and I could tell that he was irritated. He came into the room and closed the door behind him, but didn't lock it. Why would he? He would snap me in half before I could even form a thought of escape.

He went over and sat on the bed. It protested loudly against his weight, and I leaned back against the wall across from him.

"Sometimes I think that those guys are more trouble to keep around than they're worth," he muttered with a hand going through his tangled locks. "But then I remember that it will all work out, and I have to deal with them for just a little while longer." He looked up at me. "You know what I mean. We all have to deal with people like this, don't we? Or maybe it's just you and me who have to deal with them."

Just us? What was he talking about? I looked at him in a questioning manner.

His smile was that of a placid one. The way his eyes looked when they met mine made me realize that me and him were very similar, in a way that I never thought I would see existing in someone else.

"I know I've said this before, but you are unlike all the others that have been brought here," Matthew stated. "It's actually kind of convenient, not having to worry about you freaking out every second and fighting. You're smarter than that, I know. You're probably waiting for the proper opportunity to escape."

He leaned back. "But, there is no opportunity to escape. You won't be able to leave this building, and when we take you to our destination, there will be nowhere to run to."

He seemed to wait then, as if I would respond. I only gazed back at him blankly as we dwelled in the silence of the room. I found that the longer I looked into his black eyes, the amount of uneasiness I felt continued to increase. He of course appeared to be aware of the effect that he had on people, I could see it in the way he smiled.

I wanted to wipe that smile off his face. But, he had my gun. I had a feeling that I wouldn't be getting it back anytime soon, either.

I did obviously want to know what was going on and my current location of which they were planning to do something with me, but I wasn't about to ask. I knew that he wouldn't tell me. The suspense building inside me at my ignorance was a bit bothersome, but manageable. I had to wait until the last minute to find out what was happening.

"You probably don't plan on speaking to me anytime soon, but I feel like it should be common courtesy to ask if there is anything you would like to say before your demise," Matthew spoke abruptly. "Last words? Anyone you want me to leave a message for? You must have a boyfriend or something."

Had this been any other situation I would have burst out in bitter laughter. Not just at the boyfriend part, but the fact that he thought I would have any last words. I'd never thought about things that I would say at the time of my death. I would want to wait until the last moment and just say whatever I pulled out of my ass. It would be funner that way, instead of spending time thinking about all the inspirational words I could say.

I doubt that anyone would be around me when I died, anyway. I wouldn't want to be surrounded by people. Watching and waiting to see the life fade from me. No, that's way too annoying. I don't want to be bothered while I'm dying. I think I would want to die in silence, alone. It would be much easier.

Matthew was still looking at me as if waiting for my answer. "No? Nothing? Shame. I would have thought that you were in a relationship with someone. Well, that makes things a bit easier, doesn't it?"

By now one would say that Matthew liked hearing himself talk. Which might be true, but he was talking because he knew that I was listening. He was just doing this because he felt like it, and he knew that I couldn't care less about it.

He stood up so quickly that it surprised me a bit, to which he snickered. "I'll leave you alone now, chickie. Be back in a few hours. I have to take care of scheduling a few things." His finger pointed to a box in the corner of the room. Was that there before? "If you get bored, theres some chalk in there. Feel free to cover the walls with it."

After he left and locked the door, I glanced at the box. Hm.

Inside it was what looked like a couple packages of sidewalk chalk, the thick kind that barely fits in your hand. Some of them were broken in half. As I was digging around, I spotted something carved at the bottom of the box. I dumped out all the chalk, making tinkling sounds on the conrete floor.

On the cardboard was an inscription that looked like someone had scratched it in with their fingernails.. _'Don't forget me. -Leah Parker'_

The box felt very heavy in my hands then. The noise that echoed through the room when I set it down sounded like the loudest thing I had ever heard.

I put all the chalk back except for one stick, which I held in my hand while I walked around the room inspecting all the space. All the walls were made of a cold gray concrete, smooth to the touch. When I ran my hand over it, I tried to imagine what it was like to live in this room, tortured by whatever mental illness was present.

What to draw? I hadn't done anything artistic since high school. First I drew a few tester lines in the corner of the blank wall. I stood straight and faced the middle of the concrete face, measuring the space with my eyes.

Time to experiment.

I reached up as far as I could, which was about halfway up the wall. I traced the chalk in a curved line, going down at the ends. My free hand pressed against the wall to keep my balance as I bent to finish the circle. It was nowhere near perfect, of course.

Next came the 'x' through it. I stretched up to the far right corner and brought the chalk through the circle in a straight line. After I did the other, I thickened the lines by going over them more with the chalk. My hands were covered in the white powder. I stepped back to look at my creation fully.

Well, so far nothing was happening. Maybe nothing was supposed to happen. But Slenderman had never explained to me what the symbol was, so I was trying to figure it out. It obviously had meaning. I thought back to when I'd traced it on his palm and it had somehow alighted on his skin, yet he still wouldn't give away any more information to me.

I lifted my hand and put it flat on the center of the 'x'. I wasn't expecting anything to really happen.

A flashback hit me then, from when he had tried to show somewhat of a form of affection towards me. I had been in my kitchen and he stood behind me, his dark magnetic presence impossible to ignore. He'd reached around me and his cold hands ran along my stomach in the motion to wrap around me. But, he'd disappeared right before his form could be pulled against mine.

There was also the time that he had laid next to me while I slept, sometimes holding me with his long arms. His body seemed to curve perfectly around mine, despite how I tried not to think about it. I had always just tried to focus on going to sleep. But of course my mind always drifted back to him and the strange sensations he created inside me.

With a wince I dropped my hand from the wall. This wouldn't help anything. There's no point in thinking about him anyway, especially not like this. He wasn't coming for me. Even if I wanted him to.

I tossed the chalk back in the box.

* * *

I had been sitting on the bed dozing off when someone started unlocking the door. I had to jerk myself into a state of full consciousness as I saw that it was not Matthew, but Lori. She opened the door and gazed at me for a bit before nodding for me to stand.

"Hurry up."

I was making my way to her when she glanced at the wall across from the bed, the one that still had the Operator Symbol on it in powdery white chalk.

Her face actually turned a little paler. She held out a hand to halt me, which I did. She pointed at me. "Did you do that?"

I nodded. Who else would have done it?

In an instant the door was closed and locked behind her. She put her keys away and looked at me with narrowed, distrustful eyes. "Why? Are you one of his little...freak followers? A proxy?"

I wanted to smile at her, to carry on a charade to see what she would do. But I knew that it wouldn't be the smartest thing to do in this situation. So I just shook my head.

She didn't seem to believe me. "I knew that something was off about you. Maybe that's why Matt seems to be so interested. Are you planning to take one of us to **him**, little freak? We won't go very easily."

Before I could even begin to question her theory or her process of thinking, she shoved me back almost violently.

"I have a message for your master. He's a coward, and if he wants one of us, he should come to me personally. I would gladly shoot his faceless ass myself if he had the balls to face me."

Now I smiled. I couldn't help myself. The idea of her trying to shoot and kill Slenderman was just too amusing. He wouldn't even waste his energy to lift a hand against her, she would be dead in seconds with nothing but liquid for brains.

That's when she punched me. The momentum she transferred with her fist made me stumble and fall on my knee.

"What the hell are you smiling about?!" she shouted. She sounded strangely shaky even in her rage.

I was busy touching my mouth to make sure nothing was broken. My skin was slightly numb to the touch, from the impact. It felt weird. It was a lot different from being thrown around and/or having my life threatened by Slenderman. He hurt me in different ways than this. I didn't like the contact of being hit. Hell, I didn't like contact in general.

When I was standing straight again, she pushed me so that I fell against the wall. The white chalk rose a bit in the air and settled on my clothes. I could see where this was heading.

As expected, she threw more punches towards me. I tried to dodge as best as I could, but there was nowhere to run to in the small room. So I could only block with my arms and sink lower in an attempt to keep myself from getting too damaged.

Her foot then struck into my stomach, knocking the air from me. I fell to the floor in a heap and gasped for breath. She loomed over me, fists clenched and nostrils flaring.

"Why does he treat you the way he does? I don't see anything special in you," she hissed, seemingly to herself. "It's just because you haven't tried to escape yet. That's it. Why does he think of you like you're something important? You are _nothing_!"

She spun to walk to the other side of the room, rubbing her face angrily.

It took me a few moments to realize that she was talking about Matthew just now. What did she mean? These people were so crazy. All in their own ways, too. Figures I'd get stuck with them.

I had finally gotten my breathing semi-under control when she returned to kick me a few more times. But this time, she grabbed one of my arms to hold me halfway up so she could land more blows to my whole body. This woman had a lot of rage in her. So far I could only conclude that she was somehow jealous of how Matthew was treating me, whatever that meant.

Personally I would be more concerned about Matthew's mental state, if I was her. I mean damn, he's as unstable as me.

The next time I was thrown to the floor, I started laughing. This was just so ridiculous. My ribs and every other part of me hurt, protesting against the sound coming out of me, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop anyway. I had nothing to lose, I never did.

Lori was very confused now. She backed up from me a little, trying to keep her stony expression. "What...why are you laughing? Is something funny, freak?"

Not even trying to stop, I attempted to get myself off of the floor. I couldn't think clearly. Maybe I should do this more often. It's not that bad, besides the fact that I have a rather hysterical meltdown in which I'm more likely to murder people.

My stupid arms kept collapsing from under me. My legs didn't want to cooperate, either. Just how much had she hit me?

Her hand fisted into the front of my shirt, and she yanked me up against the wall, pressing her knuckles into my chest. She looked so very angry. "Stop it! Stop laughing, you crazy bitch!" A few seconds later and she dropped me. "Just shut up!"

I laid on my side and grinned up at her whilst the pain coursed through me. The way she looked down at me, her eyes wild and distressed, only increased the bubbling of laughter coming up into my mouth. She looked almost like a fish with her mouth gaping open like that and her wide eyes.

She leaned down and grasped my arm, and I felt a sharp pain. Then she hoisted me up against the wall by my clothes again.

"Shut up! Shut up, freak!"

_Pathetic._

For some reason my body began to feel weaker. My limbs were heavier, feeling like sacks of lead when the door opened and Matthew came in with a strange look on his face, and started yelling at Lori which caused her to drop me instantly.

My ears gradually filled with ringing noise and the weird muffled sound of my own laughter, now only a weak chuckling.

"...sedated her?!"

"...wouldn't stop...sorry…"

Hm. That would explain the hypodermic needle in her hand, now that I notice it. Crap. I hate being sedated.

I tried to move myself, which resulted in my shaky arms just kind of twitching a few inches, not really what I wanted them to do. It hurt to breathe. Why couldn't the stupid sedative at least take care of the pain? I could only begin to fade out of consciousness while still being reminded that I'd had the shit beat out of me.

I laid my head back down and could see the Operator Symbol that I'd drawn on the wall, now smeared in result of me being thrown and held against it. When I blinked my eyelids started to morph into concrete. This was just wonderful.

As I was falling into a state of unconscious, Matthew was suddenly crouched next to me, reaching out towards my face. The look in his eyes bewildered me. It wasn't concern, but something almost like sadness. Seriously, what the hell?

He was sliding his arms underneath me when the image of him faded to black.

* * *

Something pricked my skin, bringing feeling into my arm. The feeling then slowly spread to the rest of me, and I tried to move away from the pain, but my body only twitched. I had a feeling that I was not alone. I forced my heavy eyelids open and focused almost immediately on the figure sitting next to me.

Matthew's face was stoic, looking at me intently. He didn't seem as amused as he usually did. My eyes then traveled down to where his pocket knife was poking into my forearm, the source of the prick I'd felt. Upon seeing that I was coherent he removed his knife from me and put it away.

I was still in the same room, with the Operator Symbol messily drawn on the wall opposite of me. I realized with displeasure that I was laying down on the bed with the restraints. Thankfully they weren't attatched to me.

"So, where does it hurt the most? I know she kind of got you all over, but I need to make sure that nothing is too badly damaged," Matthew stated.

I gave him a look of 'really?' and shook my head.

He didn't seem to care about his previous statement, instead he took a deep breath and shook his head as well. "She was just supposed to take you to Cara. I didn't really think she'd do something stupid like this. Apparently she got freaked out because you drew that symbol, correct?"

He motioned to the smeared wall behind him. I nodded.

Well, I felt like shit. More so than usual, of course. Everything felt sore and bruised, which it probably was. Mostly my midsection. She'd hit there more than other places because I kept blocking my face.

Matthew kept looking at me with the same expression he'd had right before I'd passed out. As if answering my questioning eyes he gave a cynical laugh. "You look like I always used to. We're the ones who always get beat up, aren't we? It's because we can take it. We're **made** to be hurt."

I came to realize in that moment that Matthew was more like me than I thought. He and I were both sharing the same way of thinking. We saw the world through the same eyes, we functioned differently. And his theory, well, he was actually kind of right. Now that I thought about it, it made sense.

How did the both of us end up meeting like this? Strange world.

But, he didn't seem to be living like I was. He was actually doing something with his life and using his insight for whatever it was he did. He seemed to be acceptant of who he was and what he could not escape. That look that he sometimes got in his eyes, it now felt very familiar.

It was the same thing I'd felt every time I lost my grip on my mental state. He appeared to lose his grip even more than I did.

"Well, if you're fine then, we have to get going," Matthew said as he stood up and kicked his chair away noncholantly. It tumbled to the other side of the room. "This place was only your first destination. But you must have figured that out already, right? Get up."

Without bothering to wait, he headed towards the door. I was trying to gain control of my limbs when his form disappeared, and was replaced by Jerry who stepped into the room. He gave me a nod and stayed until I got to my feet.

Upon standing, my ribs gave a painful cry of protest and I almost doubled over, but instead I kept my composure as best I could and moved forward. It was so hard to breathe when my lungs felt like collapsing with every breath.

I didn't care, though. I wanted to get this over with. I had a feeling that wherever I was headed, it was a step closer towards my death. Things had only just begun.

* * *

**Hello people! Thank you for waiting so long for this, I apologize for how long it took, I was getting impatient too. So here you go :3 **

**Oh and I would like to thank all of you who left reviews. You all make me feel nice and pleased, plus sometimes I get tips on how I can be better with my writing. So thank you :D and thanks to my silent readers too! I'm one of you most of the time when I read stories too xD  
**

**I'm hoping to get through with this part of the story quickly, but not too fast, you know? I want my Slendy action back Dx I'm missing it already...my character is, too, but she won't admit it ;D **

**...Something's very, very wrong with me xD But, if I was normal, I wouldn't be able to give you my word vomit on paper that you seem to like for some reason. (? o.o) Maybe you're all just somehow brainwashed by witchery that has been infused by an unknown force into my writing. Yeah, that's it. Witchery.  
**

** Have fun being brainwashed!**


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